The Keyblade Wielder and the Mercenary (English Version)
by DAAMHarlock
Summary: After defeating countless Heartless and dark forces, Sora finally reaches and defeats Xehanort and goes to search Kairi to bring her back to life, but he ends up in a medieval world called Fodlan and has to learn to deal with his new life, and find a way to back to his world. Possible Sora x Female Byleth x Edelgard. T for fantasy violence and some language. No bashing and flaming!
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**There were people who asked me to do the English version so they could read and understand the story, the problem is, is that my vocabulary isn't strong enough and im sorry if you find few mistakes. But I will give it a try.**

**/**

**PROLOGUE**

**KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD**

After traveling through various worlds and defeating countless enemies, a young spiky brown-haired man, Sora, finally made it to where his nemesis was standing, who was a bald old man with a sinister glare.

The old man, Master Xehanort was showing his true intentions, what he wanted to, was to open the Kingdom Hearts and in order to success, he needed the χ-blade but he lacked something else, something that was too essential to complete his evil plan.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed alarmed upon realizing of what he was up to.

In fact, the mentioned girl was the last thing Xehanort needed to fulfill his sinister plan, this was the reason that there were lots of Keyblade Wars, the χ-blade was that cause of too many casualties between both light and dark sides.

"You require motivation." Said the old man derogatorily in laughs, right before giving a death blow that ended the girl's life making her disappear in white particles, provoking the boy in the process.

"KAIRI NO!" Sora screamed in fury upon seeing his most important friend being torn away by this despicable old man while charging at him. "WHY HER?!"

Sora tried to land a hit at Xehanort in retaliation for Kairi's death in vain and was sent flying back to the ground.

Everyone else, the King Mickey and the other boy with white-hair, Riku couldn't believe what had just happened, the evil sword master had hurt and killed their precious friend.

"Why?!" Sora spat giving the old man a pissed off glare.

"I made it." Xehanort laughed evilly after fulfilling his most ambitious plan.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, XEHANOOORT!" Riku roared in rage charging against the man, only to be countered and knock back to the ground as well.

"You will pay for this, Ultima!" snarled King Mickey furiously while trying to cast the spell.

However, Xehanort managed to interrupt that spell casting Stopza preventing Mickey from successfully casting his magic attack, even though both casts were struggling with each other, Xehanort succeed in using his own and halt everything.

Sora was very distraught as he was watching many of his friends being struck down by the man who successfully fulfilled his threat.

Xehanort had successfully obtained the χ-blade, with that, anyone could acknowledge him as an unstoppable man, capable of everything and no one could face him to stop his plans once and for all.

"The χ-blade is complete." Said Xehanort smiling evilly. "Kingdom Hearts! I call upon your true form. Open now and show me the World to come."

Xehanort covered the whole world in darkness, as Sora watched helplessly without any way to do something to revert the situation.

It was at this moment when his friends and traveling partners Donald and Goofy showed up to try to comfort and cheer him up.

"Hey, don't give up." Donald told him to stand up.

"We thought ya might be able to use a couple a' more half pints." said Goofy the same way.

"Donald… Goofy…" expressed Sora in a grieving tone.

"Typical. You can't do anything without us, Sora." Donald reminded him of how supposedly uncappable he was, giving him strong statements as an attempt to motivate him.

"Now wipe those tears, and let's go stop Master Xehanort!" Goofy asked him to stop crying and pull himself together.

"Yeah… but… he controls Kingdom Hearts now." Sora knew it was impossible to face him at this point. "And Kairi…"

Everything seemed lost when…

"You, worried?" an incoming voice was heard behind the trio.

"Guys." Sora articulated upon seeing people getting closer to them.

People who made it there were Roxas, Axel/Lea, Xion, Aqua, Ventus and Terra.

"Sorry we took so long." Axel apologized for taking so long. "Had a couple of plot points that needed ironing out."

Roxas and Ventus had a brief eye-contact looking at each other with subtle surprise, they looked like twin brothers.

"Master Xehanort…" said Terra visibly bothered about what the old man had done.

"He did it… He opened Kingdom Hearts." Aqua agreed. She felt defeated like everyone else.

"So, what now?" asked Ventus in the same manner.

No one had the answer for that and everybody bowed their heads down in defeat, or that's what they thought.

"We still have one hope." Stated Mickey leading them to believe they still had one chance to resolve the big problem.

"Your majesty! Riku! Are you okay?" asked Sora after looking at them unharmed despite the Xehanort's attack.

"Yeah." The white-haired affirmed him.

"What hope?" Ventus wanted to know the way to defeat Master Xehanort.

"It's Xehanort. During the Mark of Mastery exam, we learned that he can transcend space and time. He's a portal, and we can use that to trap him." Riku explained them how to take him down for good.

"But, it won't be easy. Aqua, Riku, I'll need both of your help if we're gonna push Xehanort out of this world." Mickey gave them instructions to carry out the plan.

"Wait. I'll do it." Sora wasn't willing to sit down and do nothing, he needed take the initiative and defeat the old man himself.

"What?" Riku questioned him upon hearing him say those words.

"Kingdom Hearts is a much bigger threat." Sora explained his motives and asked them to let him carry out the mission. "Let me handle Xehanort, while you guys keep it shut."

Everyone looked amused after hearing Sora's words, Mickey looked sad knowing very well how risky it was to face Xehanort alone, nonetheless they all agreed to do so believing him.

"Okay, Sora." Said Mickey letting him do what he had to do.

"I got this." Answered the brown-haired boy motivated.

With that, Sora walked his way towards Xehanort decided to bring Kairi back along with Donald and Goofy joining him.

"Sora." Xion talked to him to wish him good luck.

"Oh, hey." He greeted her.

"Kairi will be alright, I can feel it." Xion led Sora to believe that she wasn't dead as he thought.

"Thank you." Said Sora looking way more motivated than ever.

With that, everybody used their keyblades' powers to open the portal and Sora, Donald and Goofy transformed into sort of light to get inside the world called 'Scala Ad Caelum', which at its time it was called the Daybreak Town.

**/**

This world was where the final battle against Xehanort took place and not only on the solid ground but in the ruins of the citadel underwater and even at the tower.

After an agonizing and hardcore fight, Sora, Donald and Goofy finally defeated Xehanort by using a light ray from Sora's keyblade.

After that, Riku and the others made it to the tower to be the witnesses of Master Xehanort's definitive defeat.

Terra walked few steps wanting to execute his supposed teacher who lead him to the evil path long time ago, nobody could blame him to do such action, but…

"Don't do it, Terra." Aqua implored him to stop. "He got what he deserved."

Terra nod at his friend's words, what he really wanted, was to exchange some words with his former master.

"There's more to light than meets the eye." Stated Terra, shocking the old bald man. "As I told you."

"You sly fox…" responded Xehanort amused.

Suddenly, a bright light surrounded Terra and that was the moment when Master Eraqus's soul emerged from Terra's body in front of Aqua and Ventus.

"Now, hand over the χ-blade, Xehanort." Eraqus asked the sword master to give him the said weapon.

"It is too late." Xehanort stated that there was nothing that everyone could do to handle the situation.

"For us, perhaps… but not for them. "Eraqus refuted while looking at Sora and the others, seeing them as the saviors.

"No… I can do this." Xehanort didn't want to admit his defeat, but he already had lost his strength to wield the χ-blade, therefore there was nothing he could do anymore and he had already lost.

"Enough." Said Eraqus making him put the sword down. "Checkmate."

Xehanort had no choice to accept his defeat and handed his χ-blade over to Sora, and then he bided everyone a farewell and went to afterlife with his longtime friend and rival Eraqus.

And this was how the battle against to the darkness came to an end.

Sora and his friends used the sword's power to leave the place and go get back to the Keyblade Graveyard.

But, this wasn't enough for the young keyblade wielder, he felt that he needed to do something to make the things right.

"No…" said Sora in this state.

"We will find Kairi. Let's head back to Master Yen Sid. We can figure it out." Riku tried to cheer him up.

"No, I know what to do." Sora rejected his friend's suggestion.

"Sora…" Mickey looked worried about what he was about to do.

"My whole journey began the day I lost her." Sora explained the big motive of his actions. "And every time I find her… she slips away again. I thought we'd finally be together. But she's out there, alone. Not for one more second."

"We'll go too!"

"That's right!"

"Thank you, Donald, Goofy." Sora thanked them for their will to travel with him, but he made a drastic choice, shocking everyone. "But this time, I have to go it alone."

"Sora, listen. The power of waking isn't to go chase hearts around!" Mickey warned him about the big risk that this entailed. "Even if you do locate Kairi, you might never come home to us again.

"I will. And we'll both be back before you know it." Said Sora looking optimistic despite the warnings the king was giving him.

In order to bring Kairi back and despite of the consequences, Sora was more than ready to face the risk of losing himself, or even worse, disappear from his own existence.

"Let him go, Mickey." Riku asked him to respect his decision.

"But, Riku…"

"His heart and his mind are made up. Now Believe in him."

"Yeah… Safe Journey, Sora." Mickey gave up and wished him good luck.

"Thank you." The boy thanked him for everything.

This was the moment when the young keyblade wielder opened the portal by using the power of waking to go find Kairi wherever she was.

**/**

After the keyblade war was over, every single one of them shared their happy moments:

-Mickey, Donald and Goofy reunited with Queen Minnie, Daisy and their dog Pluto.

-Aqua, Ventus and Terra frequented Master Eraqus's grave in Land of Departure, now resolute to get stronger.

-Roxas, Axel and Xion were sitting down at the top of the tower in Twilight Town along with Hayner, Olette, Pence and with Isa.

-Naminé, Kairi's nobody, had got her body back after going through different proceedings.

Everyone had lots of fun celebrating their big victory in Destiny's Island.

Kairi was sitting down on a thick trunk, sheering a tear through a cheek by the time she saw how Sora was disappearing from her sight and everyone else's.

"I'm so sorry…" said the girl crying. "I know we will see each other again, maybe one month… three months… someday…"

Little did they know was that the young keyblade Wielder was somewhere else where it wasn't precisely about striking every type of Heartless and dark creatures, but something else.

**END OF PROLOGUE.**


	2. Midnight Assault

DISCLAIMER:** I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**sonictj31: I'm glad you liked it, it will take a lot of time but you will eventually get every chapter translated, I hope you support this work.**

**CHAPTER 1 – MIDNIGHT ASSAULT**

**Opening Theme: Simple and Clean (PLANiTb Remix) – Hikaru Utada**

_You're giving me  
Too many things, lately  
You're all I need  
You smiled at me, and said_

_Don't get me wrong I love you  
But does that mean I have to meet your father?  
When we are older you'll understand what I meant when I said  
no  
I don't think life is quite that simple_

_When you walk away  
You don't hear me say  
Please, oh baby don't go  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel  
tonight  
It's hard to let it go_

_Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings  
The future doesn't scare me at all  
Nothing's like before_

_Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings  
The future doesn't scare me at all  
Nothing's like before_

**END OF THE OPENING**

**/**

**Remire Village (Empire Territory) – Great Tree Moon (Nighttime)**

After being knocked out for a long time, Sora slowly opened his eyes only to find himself trapped at an unknown place in the middle of the woods.

But the question was: How did he end up at this place? He had rescued Kairi and he lost himself just as King Mickey had predicted.

This would probably be this sole motive to have been there, who knows whether Sora will see Kairi and his friends. Only the time will tell.

"Donald! Goofy! Where are you?!" Sora exclaimed trying to find his friends, without success. "Where am I?"

Suddenly, he heard a very loud noise that was not that far away from where he was standing.

Sora disposed himself to investigate sneaking between shrubs to avoid getting caught by anybody who could challenge him to a deadly fight.

What he found out was that there were a few bandits chasing three young people who were running for their lives as fast as they could.

And to make things worse, the dark creatures, the Heartless were also chasing all of them, leading them to fight for their own survival.

**[KINGDOM HEARTS BGM: Scherzo de Notte]**

The bandits were also struggling to fight the dark creatures on their own, but they couldn't land a hit and damage them despite their efforts, this was frustrating everyone.

"What the hell did these thing come from?!" muttered a young blonde man with a blue cape, Dimitri. "Are these your pets?!"

"Don't get me wrong! I have nothing to do with these dark creatures!" spat the white-haired girl with red cape, Edelgard, defending herself from the blonde's accusations.

"The life sometimes surprises us." Said the brown-skinned guy with yellow cape, Claude. "How about both of you stop bickering and fight these things?"

They both nodded at the boy's advice and with differences between them, the three struggle as they could to strike the Heartless down but despite their efforts, they never damaged them.

"It's not possible. We can't kill them!" snarled Edelgard seemingly frustrated like the others.

"God damn it!" spat Dimitri in the same manner.

The three and the bandits, who the latter were taking the worse part as they all were outnumbered.

"What are we going to do? They are everywhere!" said Edelgard knowing that their demise was closer than they thought.

"Nothing we can do." Claude was giving up on struggling anymore.

Everything was lost, they were about to lose their fight for survival when…

"Thunder!" Sora's voice was heard and a strong lighting struck the whole place taking down a large part of the dark creatures.

"What the…?" murmured Edelgard surprised.

He charged towards the remaining Heartless to strike them down easily the same way to the three young people's surprise and amusement.

"Take that you assholes!" Sora shouted upon casting the most powerful spell: Thundaga, to kill the rest of the Heartless, saving the three's lives in the process.

**[END OF THE SONG]**

After successfully clearing the area, Sora approached them to check them up if they were unscratched.

"Are you guys OK?" he asked them.

"Yes, we are ok." Dimitri answered in a serious tone. "Could you tell us who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Sora." He introduced himself to the three in a cheerful tone. "About that, it is very to explain and a very long story."

"I see, you come from very afar, don't you?" Claude asked him in a friendly tone.

"Let's say that yes, I do come from a very far, far place." Sora answered remembering Donald's rules: never tell anyone their secret.

"Can you explain us about those dark creatures that attacked us?" Edelgard asked the Keyblade Wielder to explain them.

"They are the Heartless, those creatures merge in the deepest part of the heart of the people who succumb to the darkness, and they detect the hearts and take them away to multiply themselves." Sora explained the three, leading them to be intrigued about that manner.

Anyone was willing to speak when they heard loud noises approaching them.

"There they are! Let's get them!" said one of the bandits in a roaring tone threating to hurt them.

"We shall talk later, they are after us." Warned Dimitri after seeing the huge number of the bandits approaching them.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Sora expressed alarmed.

"Don't stick around! We have to go! Move!" Edelgard told them to run away, which all of them agreed to do so.

**/**

Everywhere else, a navy-blue haired girl with eyes of the same but light colors was pleasurably sleeping when a middle-aged man stepped in, giving the appearance of a very physical and mentally tough man.

"Hey, daughter. Time to wake up." Said the old man asking her to open her eyes.

"But father, the sun hasn´t come up yet." Refuted the girl wanting to sleep some more.

"I know but there a lot of things to do, Byleth." her father, Jeralt, contended his motive to get her up. "By the way, were you having that dream again?"

"Yep, I was dreaming about a young girl, again." Byleth gave him the answer, which unsurprised her father.

"You've described her to me before. I don't I have met anyone like that." Said Jeralt in this state, and gave her an advice for her survival in every battle. "In any case, just put that out of your mind for now. The battlefield is no place for idle thoughts. Risking your life is part of the job for mercenaries like us. Letting your mind wander is a sure way to get yourself killed."

"Understood, father." Byleth nodded to her father advice.

"OK, time to get moving, our next job is in the kingdom."

"Of course."

"Hm? Good grief. Everyone is already waiting for us outside."

"Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed." Said one of the mercenaries asking to attend the emergency reunion outside.

"What's happened?" the old man asked.

**/**

**OUTSIDE BYLETH'S HOUSE**

Byleth and Jeralt left the house and met with Sora and the others.

"Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn't bother you were the situation not dire." Dimitri bowed apologizing his actions.

"What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?" Jeralt questioned looking at them. "And who is this boy?"

"I'm Sora, sir." The keyblade wielder introduced himself to the old man. "We are being pursued by a group of bandits."

"I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend us your support." Dimitri asked the old man for his help against the bandits.

"Bandits? Here?" Jeralt frowned upon hearing them.

"It's true. They attacked us while we were at rest at our camp." Edelgard commented revealing what had really happened.

"We've been separated from our companions and we're outnumbered. And then, lots of dark creatures appeared from nowhere and we wouldn't have lived to tell if this guy had not shown up and defeated them with ease." Claude seconded looking at Sora, amazed. "And now they are after our lives… not to mention our gold."

"I'm impressed you're staying so calm considering the situation. I… Wait. That uniform…" Jeralt was speaking with them amazed for their calmness and their clothes when…

"Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn… There are a lot of them." A mercenary informed them looking stressed.

"I guess they followed you all the way here. We can't abandon this village now." Said Jeralt taking the initiative to defend the zona.

"Sora, do you have a weapon to defend yourself with?" the girl asked him succinctly.

"I do!" He affirmed her by summoning his keyblade to the surprise of everybody.

"A key?" articulated Byleth confused while staring at Sora's weapon.

"It's not just an average key, is the keyblade that was given to me to strike down the Heartless and the dark creatures." Sora stated rising his keyblade to make everybody see it.

"But this is real, kiddo, are you sure you know how to fight?" Jeralt interrogated him to make sure he was capable of facing bigger threats.

"Of course! I've been in danger a lot of times, so this will be nothing to worry about." Sora stated his intend to help.

"Alright, come on, let's move. Hope you all are ready." Finalized Jeralt decided to end the threat to the village.

**END OF THE CHAPTER 1**


	3. Night Struggle

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**CHAPTER TWO – NIGHT STRUGGLE.**

Sora and the others were determined to finish those bandits who threatened the village at all costs.

"Let's take care of those thieves before they overrun the village. Take down the enemies in front first. That should take the wind out of their sails." Jeralt indicated them while watching every surrounding.

"Yes!" said the others upon understanding the instructions to take into account.

"Sora, Edelgard, with me." Byleth ordered the both to follow her.

"We'll stay right behind you guys." Said Dimitri putting himself in the said position along with the others.

The navy blue-haired girl was the first one to attack the thief she saw at front and kill him.

Sora was shocked upon watching the way that she struck the bandit down, it was not the same as watching how Xehanort killed Kairi, as to look Byleth murder somebody in a bloody way and for real.

"Sora, Sora!" Edelgard called him getting him out of his trance.

"What?" said the keyblade wielder mentally stunned.

"Are you alright?" she asked him being a little concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. It's just… I have never seen somebody kill someone… like this." Sora explained his reasons to have been like that at this moment.

"This is something that happens very often here, it is not easy to take such action but if you want to ensure your survival, you either have to kill, or be killed trying." Edelgard gave him a very blunt and strong statement sending him a shudder down the spine.

"It's true… If you have a weapon, use it to protect yourself and the others." Byleth agreed with the girl. "Come on, if you truly are as you say, then prove it…"

Taking down the countless heartless, nobodies and even the unversed was a thing, but to kill a person like this was the most unthinkable thing that no one would ever dare to do.

Sora had never desired to murder someone like that, not even when the Organization XIII were giving him and his friends a lot of troubles.

But one thing was for sure, Sora was not willing to waste his second chance that he was given upon waking up in that place and find a way back to his world with Kairi, Riku and his friends.

"I will!" he nods to show them what he's made of.

Sora charged towards the bandit who tried to cut him down with his sword, but the young keyblade wielder impressively counterattacked making the thief drop his weapon and it was the moment when Sora successfully took him down by using the technique Ars Arcamiun, which consisted in landing various hits, which in reality turned to be pure brutal slashing throughout the thief's body and with a final blow, he completely finished him off.

"Incredible… Just who is this boy?" Byleth thought amazed after watching him kill that said theft.

Edelgard and the others were astonished as well due to the boy's performance, Jeralt smiled while feeling that he was not as wrong as he thought.

Everyone moved up fighting more bandits defending the village.

Jeralt was giving them indications while they kept advancing and protecting themselves at the same time from enemy attacks from anyone whom they encountered.

They opted to hide in a big shrub to defend themselves.

"Why do we hide between the shrubs?" Sora asked for the motive.

"We have to defend ourselves from the enemy and avoid getting hit, that's the motive." Byleth answered by explained him the tactical defense.

It was at this moment when they decided to ambush to the other thieves when those weren't expecting for them and completely take them down.

Sora, Edelgard and Byleth killed the last three remaining thieves, it was like the three had an excellent chemistry between them.

After facing them, they healed the wounds they had sustained during the fight to continue the mission.

Elsewhere, a fat man expressed rage and bothersome due to losses of his men.

"Shit! Why the hell are there mercenaries in the village? Guess we'll have to deal with them too." Spat that man, named Kostas, showing hatred towards Sora and the others who were getting closer.

While approaching the next area, Sora had a conversation with the navy-blue haired woman like this:

"You have a strange aura about you…" Byleth smiled subtlety at Sora. "You really are a hardened warrior."

"Thank you, actually, I've been through lots of battles with my friends, which made me form myself as a warrior." Said Sora cheerfully, very typical of him.

"I have to confess that I'm really curious about your keyblade, I thought it was just a toy, but I was wrong." She argued leading him to believe that she had doubts about the young boy at first.

"Well, now you know that I can defend myself from anyone including a soldier." Sora laughed being sure about himself.

Byleth nodded understanding his words, she never thought that she would encounter someone who was that impulsive but an expert in combat like Sora.

"Thank you for helping us, we are in debt with you guys, we could not fall in a place like this." Dimitri thanked them for watching their backs. "Please, let's join our forces to face those thieves."

After almost finishing wiping the rest of the bandits out of village, they ran into Kostas, everyone was ready to face him when Byleth decided to step forward.

"Leave him to me, he's mine." She said preparing herself to fight him.

"You bitch! Get the fuck out of my way!" Kostas roared charging towards her.

"Byleth…" Sora murmured worried about her integrity.

"I will kill you right now, you bastard." The thieves' leader hissed while clashing his weapon against the woman's.

"I don't think so…" said Byleth getting him off her with an impressive maneuver that successfully knocked the man off and they proceeded to continue the mission.

After a short time, Kostas recovered the consciousness and stood up to get his axe ready, and then, he dangerously charged towards Edelgard intending to kill her in the process.

But, Byleth appeared to shield her from receiving the deadly blow, even if that costed her life.

"No!" Sora screamed in horror as he witnessed the incoming massacre that would have ended in tragedy.

However, the time stopped, everything but Sora was frozen and therefore he was the only one who could move. Could it be King Mickey? Aqua? Or some of his friends? No, it was impossible, none of them knew about his whereabouts.

"What happened?" Sora was confused after he noticed that he had been taken to a dark room, just like it happened back when his journey had begun. "Byleth! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you, Sora?" she answered him in the same manner.

"Me too, that guy almost killed you." He reminded her about her almost assassination.

"It's true, I think I'm such a fool for taking that action. Are we really dead?"

"Don't say that, Byleth, we will figure a way out and go back."

"Honestly! You guys are jerks! Jerks!" They suddenly heard a voice of a young girl that said it in a very annoyed tone that freaked them out. "What are you accomplishing with that little stunt, you freaking girl?! It's like you guys are trying to get me killed, you assholes!"

"And who are you?" Sora inquired the mysterious person who turned to be a girl with a long green hair and eyes of the same color.

"Well, it's fine. After all, if you don't know the value of your own lives, you are not going to protect it very well, are you guys?"

"What do you mean?" Byleth look concerned about the girl's words.

"Well, then. I guess it's up to me to guide you guys from now on. Right?" said the mysterious girl standing up. "You can call me Sothis… but I'm also known as "The Beginning."

But in reality, she could not remember who she was, nor her origins, she couldn't just remember everything but her name. That made Sora and Byleth curious.

"Sothis… Yes, that is it. My name is Sothis. And I am also called… The Beginning. But who once called me that?" she said trying to remember her origins.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked her curiously.

"I ask the same." Byleth seconded in the same mood.

"I was not able to recall my name… until just now." Sothis commented them seemingly puzzled. "And just like that, it came to me. How odd. That look upon your faces… Did you jerks think of me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?! Phooey! That 'child' just saved your asses! And what does that make you guys?"

"I'm less than a child?" answered Byleth in a challenging tone, annoying the girl.

"Ha! Such arrogance. You look the part, but are you even an adult?" Sothis made that question the same way. "You threw yourself before an axe to save just one young girl. And this kid couldn't do anything to beat the hell out of that big fat piece of crap."

"Hey! Don't underestimate my warrior status!" Sora barked while feeling insulted by those words.

"Let me finish, you brat!" she refuted in a funny, and yet angry tone. "Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. She would have died had I not intervened."

"Thank you for helping us." Byleth thanked her for helping them to survive.

"There, that's better, is gratitude so much to ask? I did deem you worth saving, after all." Sothis smiled at her attitude. "Though it is only momentary, time has stopped. However did I manage that..."

"What will happen when time resumes?" Sora inquired her in a serious tone, intrigued.

"When time begins again, the axe will tear into the woman's meat, and she will surely meet her end." Said Sothis in a solemn tone, making him and Byleth have a shiver run down their backs.

Was there absolutely no way for Byleth to survive? There had to be a way for her to avoid meeting her end and survive.

"How rude of you two to drag me into this mess!" said the green-haired girl in a worried tone. "Now what to do…"

"What do you say, Byleth?" Sora questioned her about what actions to take.

"Could you take us back in time?" Byleth asked her to do this action.

"Of course! I must turn back the hands of time!" said Sothis with lots of enthusiasm, while casting a sort of spell. "Yes… I do believe it can be done. You guys are really quite troublesome. I cannot wind back time too far, but all is well. You two are aware of what's to come, which means both of you can protect yourselves this time."

"We'll handle this, Sothis." Said Sora more than ready to revert the situation.

"Sora…" Byleth was surprised by the keyblade wielder's word and determined stance.

Now, go… Yes, both of you who bear the flames within. Drift though the flow of time to find the answers that you seek…" Sothis casted the spell to turn back in time to the moment when Edelgard was about to be attacked by the bandit.

"Not this time!" Sora exclaimed getting there quickly, prepared to attack Kostas.

However, he didn't come alone, as Byleth soon joined him with the same purpose, to protect Edelgard.

"Get out of my way, you motherfuckers!" roared Kostas as he was about to give them a death blow.

"Stay away!" Both Sora and Byleth screamed at the same time while they used their respective weapons to kick him out flying very far away from the place.

Edelgard was astonished for their ingenuity to strike her almost-killer down and avoid that tragedy. No one had been worried about her integrity but those two had saved her life and she felt relieve and surprise at the same time as she witnessed their combined moves against Kostas.

"Are you okay? Any harm?" Sora asked her if she was fine and well.

"Yeah, I'm good, thank you for protecting me." Said Edelgard slightly relieved for their actions.

"You're welcome, we couldn't let this man lay a finger on you." Byleth explained her motives to defend her.

"Heeeeey!" Claude's voice was heard as he and the blonde boy approached them.

"Are you guys alright?" Dimitri asked them seeing them unharmed and well.

"Yes, and it's thanks to these two." Affirmed Edelgard looking at Byleth and Sora, who was shrugging his shoulders while his face was slightly blushed.

"Hey… Did you guys just…" Jeralt arrived to the scene asking the two astonished.

"We just cleaned the house, sir. That's all." Said Sora leading him to believe that the threat was over.

At this precise second, a few knights arrived to the village to try to put order, but they didn't realize that the situation was already under control.

"The knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students." Stated one of them, named Alois who tried to look brave. "Hey, the thieves are running away! Go after them!"

He and the others went to check the guys, only to figure out that they were all fine and well.

"The students seem to be unharmed. And… who are those two?" Alois said after making sure they didn't seem to be in danger.

"Ugh… Why him?" Jeralt sighed as he was unpleasant to see that loud behavior from that man.

"Captain Jeralt?! It's you! Goodness, it's been ages." Alois greet him euphorically upon seeing his captain after many years. "Don't you recognize me? It's Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well, that's how I always thought of myself anyway. It must have been 20 years ago that you went missing without a trace. I always knew you were still alive."

"You haven't changed a bit, Alois. Just as loud as ever. And drop that 'Captain' nonsense. I'm not your captain anymore." Said Jeralt upon recognizing his friend and asked him to stop addressing him as his superior. "These days I'm just a wandering mercenary. One who has work to do. Good-bye old friend."

"Right… Good-bye, Captain." Alois was about to bid farewell when he remind of one thing. "Wait a minute! That isn't how this ends here. I insist that you return to the monastery with me!"

"Garreg Mach Monastery…" Bowing his head down in disappointment, Jeralt sighed knowing that this would happen sooner or later. "I suppose this was inevitable."

"And how about you two, guys? Are you the captain's children?"

"I'm only her daughter, Byleth." She introduced herself as her only child.

"I'm Sora." He seconded doing the same in his usual cheerful tone.

"Is that so? Well, physical differences aside, your mannerisms do remind me of the captain." Alois commented in the same manner. "I'd love for you two to see the monastery too. You will join me, won't you?"

"Great! I'd love to." Sora was willing to go meet that place.

"Me too." Said Byleth accepting the knight's invitation.

Slightly annoyed, Jeralt nodded with his head by having no choice to join them. Apparently, he did not want anything to do with that place.

"What's troubling you, captain? You aren't about to run off again, are you?" Alois asked him if he wanted to run away.

"Even I wouldn't dare run away from the Knights of Seiros." Jeralt countered saying that he's not a coward to do such thing.

"_The knights of Seiros… They do seem rather skilled._" Sothis resounded through Sora's and Byleth's heads, who looked astonished.

"Sothis?! Where are you?" the keyblade wielder tried to find her with no avail.

"_I'm inside your heads, you fool!_" she answered him in a humorous voice. "_Anyway, they are calling you guys, get going._"

"Okay, let's go, Sora." Byleth agreed to do so.

**/**

Sora and Byleth approached Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude to have a group conversation.

"I appreciate your help back there. Your skills are beyond question." Edelgard congratulated them for their actions against the bandits. "Both of you are clearly the experienced mercenaries. And your father, Byleth… that would be Jeralt, the Blade Breaker?"

"The Blade Breaker?" Sora inquired upon hearing this nickname, becoming intrigued.

"He's the former captain of the Knights of Seiros. Oft praised as the strongest knight to ever live. Have I missed anything?"

"I never knew he was a captain." Said Byleth looking curious, leading them to believe that her father had never told her about his life as a knight.

"How curious. I'd wager the explanation for that is fascinating indeed." The white-haired girl knew that she was curious. "Anyway, Sora, I never told you what is this place, right? Well, this is Fodlan.

"Fódlan?" Sora was amazed to figure out where he was, he wasn't in the final world, nor destiny's island, he was in Fódlan and what got his attention, was their clothes, they seemed, too western, or even medieval in his eyes.

"Yes, everything you see is Fódlan, my friend. This is where the strongest knights you could meet are born. You are coming with us to the monastery, right?" Claude explained him the culture and customs of the place and invited him to join them.

"Sure!" Sora accepted his invitation to go to the monastery.

"You guys better get ready because I'd love to bend your ear as we travel." Claude joked around with these words. "Oh, I should mention that the three of us are students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. We were doing some training exercises when those bandits attacked. I definitely got the worst of it."

"That would be because you ran off." Edelgard berated him derogatorily, looking at him as a coward.

"Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat, alright? Everything would have worked out if these two hadn't followed me and ruined everything." Claude was starting to blame the two for the big problem that they had to endure. "Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us, and those dark creatures appeared from nowhere to bother us. Utterly ridiculous."

"Claude, so that was you were thinking. And here I thought you were acting as a decoy for the sake of us all." Said Dimitri disappointed of his rival's words.

"His intentions were clear as a day. You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind the person's words." Edelgard made a derogatory comment that the blonde didn't like at all.

"Hm. You will prove a lacking ruler yourself if you look to deceit behind every word and tail to trust those whom you rely on." Dimitri countered the girl's statement defending himself, trying to advise her to correct her manners.

"Oh joy. A royal debate between Their Highnesses." Said Claude not caring about the argument between the two, but enjoying it. "I wonder how being completely predictable affects one's ability to wield power."

"Wait, are you guys the future rulers?" Sora inquired them watching the debate.

"Yes. We are the heirs to become rulers of the three nations of Fódlan, personally, as the embodiment of distrust, I'd say your little exchange smacks of naiveté."

"Are you calling me stupid?! Tell me, are you actually incapable of keeping quiet, or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?" Edelgard protested upon not taking this comment pleasurably.

"In any case, forgive our digression. I must speak with you guys, if you can spare a moment." Dimitri apologized for making that scene. "The way you both held your ground against the bandits' leader was captivating! You never lost control of the situation. It showed me I still have much to learn."

"Oh, thanks, we had to help as we could." Sora thanked putting his hands behind his head.

"Exactly, your skills are precisely why I must ask you two to consider lending your services to the Empire." Edelgard asked them to join her team. "I might as well tell you now. I am no mere student. I am also the Adrestian Empire's-."

"Halt, Edelgard. Please allow me to finish my own proposition." Dimitri interrupted her asking her to let him finish talking with them. "The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals like yourselves, Sora, Byleth. Please, do consider returning to the Kingdom with me."

"Woah, there! You two sure are hasty. Trying to recruit someone you just met. Tactless, really." Claude reproached them knowing their intentions of pulling them in. "I was personally planning to develop a deep and lasting friendship on out journey back to the monastery before begging for favors."

"Recruit? But we've just met each other." Said Sora amused by that idea.

"Those are the things that happen very often, Sora. Haven't you experienced something like this before?" Byleth asked him understanding his point of view.

"Errr… no… well… something like that, but not like this." Sora stuttered nervously for having that beauty at his side.

"But it seems there's no time for niceties in this world. So, capable strangers, let's get right to it. Where does your allegiances lie?" Claude asked the duo to choose which nation they both should owe to.

It was a difficult choice for Sora and Byleth to take, each one of the three heirs had their own ideals and their opinions were more than divided.

"_Hmm. It seems one's place birth is quite significant to them. Yet they are so impressed by you guys, that you may take your pick. Well?_" Sothis talked to them through their heads asking the same question.

"_It's a good question, this makes me wanna break my head_." Sora scratched his head thoughtfully. "_What do you think, Miss Byleth?_"

"_Well, I'd say that we owe to Dimitri's nation, given that they treasure a lot of chivalry and all._" She gave an opinion in that regard.

"_Okay, in that case…_" Sora made up his mind. "We would say that we owe it to your nation, Dimitri.

"I see, Faerghus is a noble and distinguished kingdom that has always valued chivalry." Dimitri stated Dimitri showing himself to be grateful about the brown-haired boy's words.

"All right, that's enough with this small talk. It's time to head back to the monastery!" Alois told them that it was time to go back as soon as possible.

"Looks like we'll have to pick this up another time." Claude looked frustrated due to the interruption.

"_My, my. They are in such hurry. You know… Each of the three is most unique…_" said Sothis curious about the three future rulers.

"_In what way?_" Sora asked becoming intrigued for the three.

"_Well, you see, Sora… Edelgard is a refined young woman… But I feel as though she is always evaluating us…_" Byleth explained him the way of Edelgard's personality.

"_What about Dimitri?_" he asked an opinion about the future king of Faerghus.

"_About that… Dimitri seems quite sincere… But I sense darkness lurking beneath..._" she gave a response, which made Sora be intrigued, and quite alarmed about the big problem for him.

"_Darkness? Hold on a second, couldn't it be… The Heartless, they could take his heart away if we don't do something._" Sora tried to warm her about the upcoming trouble.

"_Sora, we are not sure if this is going to happen as you say, but we will have to be cautious anyways, that's what a good mercenary does, right?_" Byleth gave him an advice to be careful of not being caught in the act and to not attract any unnecessary attention.

"_Okay, what do you think about Claude, Byleth?_" he wanted to know

"_Well, his easy smile is striking… But that smile doesn't reach his eyes…_" Byleth gave her opinion about the heir of the yellow cape's facet.

"Yes, I thought the same. I am so sleepy once again…" Sothis coincided with the duo, in a tired mood. "_I may be sleeping… but I…_"

"Well, looks like the others are very ahead of us, let's go, Sora." Byleth finalized following the others along with him.

And that's how the duo followed the future rulers to the monastery, where the true warriors are born.

**END OF CHAPTER TWO.**


	4. Meeting the monastery

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**CHAPTER 3 – MEETING THE MONASTERY**

**/**

The continent of Fódlan, said to be protected by a revered goddess, has existed since time immemorial. Three ruling powers now control the land.

In the south lies a region long held by a more than one-thousand-year-old dynasty: The Adrestian Empire.

Beyond its borders, to the frigid north, is the home of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, ruled by the royal family and its knights.

To the east, a league of nobles that heeds no king nor emperor rules what is called the Leicester Alliance.

Once consumed by a tempest of war and turmoil, Fódlan and these three mighty powers now exist in relative harmony.

**/**

A lot of hours had passed since they defeated the thieves and headed to the monastery.

The first sun lights became noticeable through the trees' leaves as they were getting closer to the said place.

"Hey, are we already there yet? I can't feel my feet." Sora was whining for his tiredness due to the long walk.

"Hold on just a little longer, we're almost there." Said Edelgard noticing to what it turned out to be the said monastery.

After walking for hours and hours, they finally noticed from afar an abbey which was at less than half distance.

This came to the Sora's mind remembering his stay in the Three Musketeers' world where he went to save the Queen Minnie from the evil Pete's hands

Despite feeling worn down, Sora wasn't willing to stay behind and walked along with the others until they finally entered to the monastery altogether.

**/**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY**

Sora and the others entered through the abbey of Fódlan, which turned out to be the nobles and rich people's school where they grew up to become the knights and stuff like this, something that fascinated the keyblade wielder.

"Wow! This reminds me of the King Mickey's castle!" Sora thought in loud voice.

"King Mickey? Who is that?" Byleth asked him becoming curious.

"Errrr... he's the king of the Disney Castle, which is very far, far away." He half-mentioned her about it, because he had to be discreet and not let anyone know about his identity.

"Do you know each other?" Dimitri was curious about the keyblade wielder's connection with the mouse, in which he nodded yes.

Byleth's curiosity about the king had woken up, also especially about Sora's life.

Lots of questions emerged inside her mind: Who was King Mickey? Where does Sora come from? How is he capable of fighting using a keyblade instead of a typical weapon like a sword, axe or even a lance?

After they separated from the future rulers, Sora, Byleth and Jeralt stopped his tracks upon watching a figure which turned out to be a light-green eyed and haired woman who stood still right above the church.

"There she is… Lady Rhea." Jeralt pointed at her, who was having eye contact at the three.

"Lady Rhea?" Sora inquired upon hearing the name while he stared at her eyes, blushing himself due to her beauty.

"She's the archbishop of the Church of Seiros, and she's waiting for us." Jeralt explained him a little more about her.

"I see…" Sora understood the old man's words.

**/**

**AUDIENCE CHAMBER**

Sora and the others entered to the big hall which turned out to be the audience chamber, however, Jeralt did not seem to be comfortable with the archbishop's presence and it was like he was concealing his motives to his daughter and the young keyblade wielder.

"Have you been here before, father?" Byleth inquired him after hearing her father say those words.

"I never told you this before, guys, but... many years ago, I was a knight here. I reported to the archbishop… Lady Rhea." Said Jeralt telling them a part of the story of his life as a knight.

"That woman who saw us up there?" asked Sora this question, in which the old man nodded yes.

"As you know, the majority of folks in Fodlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. The leader of that ridiculously large organization is the archbishop, Rhea." Jeralt shared some more info to the two.

The woman arrived to the scene being accompanied by a green-haired man.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Jeralt." The green-haired man apologized for taking so long. "My name is Seteth, I'm an advisor to the archbishop.

"Right, hello." Jeralt saluted him showing sort of courtesy.

"It has been a long time, Jeralt. I wonder… was it the will of the goddess that we have another chance meeting like this?" Rhea spoke with an angelical tone.

"Forgive my silence all these years. Much has happened since we last spoke." He apologized for being so absent for a very long time.

"So I see. The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you. These are your children, aren't they?" the archbishop asked while looking at Sora and Byleth.

"Yes, only she, the boy comes with us, she was born many years after I left this place. I wish I could introduce you to the mother of my child… but I'm afraid we lost her to illness." Jeralt told her about his daughter.

"Mister Jeralt…" Sora looked saddened after hearing about Byleth's mother's passing.

"I see. My condolences. As for you two… I heard of your valiant efforts from Alois. What are your names?"

"My name is Byleth."

"And I'm Sora, nice to meet you."

"You two have unique names indeed." Rhea praised the two, making the keyblade wielder shrug his shoulders and have his face slightly blushed. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for saving those students of the Officers Academy."

Jeralt groaned as he felt very uncomfortable having the archbishop with them, it seemed that he wasn't pleasant with her or something like that.

"Jeralt. You already know what it is I wish to say, do you not?" said Rhea sensing the old man's words about to come out his mouth.

"You want me to join the Knights of Seiros, don't you? I won't say no but…" he tried to object but the archbishop interrupted him.

"Jeralt, your apprehension stings. I had expected that Alois would have already asked this of you." Rhea stated making him understand that he had to work there again, sooner or later. "I must step away for now, but I expect they will desire a word with you two soon. Please listen carefully to what they have to say. Until tomorrow… Farewell."

With that, Rhea and Seteth retired from the chamber leaving the three alone.

"I can't believe this crap. Being forced back to the Knights of Seiros." Said Jeralt annoyed for having to work for the church again after many years. "I'm sorry I dragged you guys into this. Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while… and I'm afraid your services are requested as well."

"We must… work here? As mercenaries for hire?" Byleth frowned making that question.

"Nothing like that, daughter." Jeralt explained her occupation that she had to take from now on. "They want you to teach, by the sound of it."

"What?! Byleth is gonna be a teacher?!" Sora expressed surprise after hearing these news. "No way!"

"You heard those brats earlier talking about the Officers Academy, right?"

"Yeah, they said that they are studying here." Byleth answered the question.

"Well, the academy just happens to be short no only a professor but a student as well." The old man commented about the proposal, making the keyblade wielder become enthusiastic.

"So that means I'm going to be a student here?" Sora was hoping to join the academy to learn the medieval values.

"Surely, Sora. And apparently that damned Alois went and recommended you to Lady Rhea, Byleth." Jeralt coincided with the boy's words and told his daughter about the way that the man recommended her to the academy.

"Sure he did." Byleth nodded with her head, it was all sudden as they weren't expecting for a chance like this.

"So. You must be the new professor. My, how stern and handsome you are!" an older brown-haired woman appeared before them along with a middle-aged man.

"Er, no. I'm not the one you are looking for, sorry. You guys can handle thing from here. Good luck." Jeralt told them that they had confused him with his daughter and retired from the place, not before whispering her and the keyblade wielder to their ears. "And… watch out for Lady Rhea. I don't know what she's thinking, making you guys a professor and student like this. She may be up to something. Stay on your guard."

What Jeralt meant about Rhea being up to something? Was she a bad person as he said? Must it something have happened between them?

"Oh. It's you, then? So young…" said the older woman looking at Byleth, amazed.

"Competence and age are not necessarily correlated, as you well know." the older man made her see that there was no age for people to become a teacher. "I am Hanneman, a Crest scholar and professor at the Officers Academy. I wonder if both of you bear a Crest of your own. When next you two have a moment to spare, I insist that you pay me a visit so we can delve into the subject further."

"I'm Manuela. I'm a professor, a physician, a songstress, and available. It's nice to meet you, what are your names?" she introduced herself to the duo.

"My name is Byleth, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Sora, nice to meet ya too. I didn't know you are a songstress?"

"Of course, you handsome young man. Before I came here, I belonged to a renowned opera company." Manuela flirted mentioning a part of her life before she became a teacher. "Perhaps you've heard of me? The Mittelfrank Opera Company's beautiful, peerless…"

Spare our colleague the needless chatter, Manuela." Hanneman asked her to focus on the real subject they came to. "Now then, it seems that you'll be taking charge of one of the academy's three houses."

"Three houses?" Byleth lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully.

"I expect you haven't yet been briefed on the nature of each, have you, guys?" the older man sensed that they both didn't know what each of the houses were about.

"Sorry, we don't know anything." Sora told them that he and she didn't have idea about this.

"Do you really not know? Fine, I'll do you guys a favor and explain." Manuela was willing to make this right by explaining every single detail of each house. "The Officers Academy is comprised of three houses of students, each of which is closely affiliated with its region of origin."

These were the things that Sora and Byleth learned from Manuela and Hanneman:

"The Black Eagle House is for students from the Adrestian Empire. Their house leader this year is Edelgard, the Imperial princess, who is in line of the next emperor."

"Edelgard is the future empress? That's awesome!" Sora expressed amazement for the girl.

"The Blue Lion House is for students from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus." Hanneman mentioned about these people. "Their house leader this year is Prince Dimitri. He is to be the next king of Faerghus."

"Dimitri being the future king? Incredible." The keyblade wielder was astonished about that statement, just like he was with the future empress.

"Lastly, there is the Golden Deer House, which is for students of the Leicester Alliance. Their house leader is Claude, grandson of Duke Riegan, the leader of the Alliance." Manuela finished explaining the duo about all the three houses.

"Wow, I never thought we'd run into the future rulers." Said Byleth slightly amazed, just like Sora.

"To think that the next empress, king, and sovereign duke are all here. It certainly is a promising year for the academy." Hanneman commented enthusiastic about the school year.

"Yes, I just hope none of those little treasures cause any trouble." Manuela said expecting to not have any report of any student.

"Hm. Quite. For now, I suggest you two taking a stroll around the academy to get your bearings. And when you've a moment, please stop by my research laboratory." Hanneman asked them to look around place so they get used to it and know where to go.

"The old man has a point. Oh, and keep in mind that I've only notified the house leaders that you're our new professor. And not only that. You, Sora, you're her student. It's more fun that way." Manuela stated that the future rulers were the only ones to know the news, and that last statement made the keyblade wielder flip in surprise.

"What?! Byleth is my teacher?!" Sora freaked out in surprise and awe upon hearing the news.

Alright, he sensed that he would become a student, but never thought that he would become a mercenary's student like Byleth so soon. This made him feel a tickle in his abdomen, like sort of butterflies wandering inside him for having such a beauty teach him a 'lot' of things.

"What's the matter? Don't you like this idea?" she asked him in a maternal and sexy tone after looking how nervous he was.

"We-Well… Y-Yes… I-I do." Sora stuttered in that state, blushed. "That's good news, isn't it?"

"I suggest you two spending time with the students. Some odd ducks in that bunch, but they're good kids." Manuela asked them to hang out with those guys they encounter. "Oh, Sora, could you tell me your last name? So you can enroll in the academy."

"My last name…" Sora thought about it, it never came to his mind the importance to have such, because where he came from, having a last name never mattered and he and his friends had called themselves by the names.

Suddenly, Sora turned on the light above his head, he had an idea.

"Nomura, my last name is Nomura." Said Sora surprising the presents.

"Nomura…? That's pretty foreign, and exotic. I like it." Manuela was wondered and amazed about that last name he came up with. "Anyway, young man, I'm sure Lady Rhea will have more information for you, but that should get you both going, guys. Good luck, you'll need it."

"Master Sora, you will need a uniform in order to enroll at the academy." Hanneman showed him a briefcase, which contained the said clothes he would be using from now on.

"Nice! Thank you Hanneman." Sora thanked the old man for providing him the uniform he needed to fully take part of the academy. "Could you tell where the bathroom is?"

"To the left, Sora." Manuela responded pointing the door which was in the hallway from the left.

"Thanks."

Sora headed to the bathroom to take out his old clothes he used during his journey and put on the uniform.

To be honest, Sora didn't look too bad, instead, he looked like noble and rich young man. He came to think about how Riku and the others would react if they saw him like that. He even laughed a little knowing that some of them would be jealous if they knew that he was a student with extra some special permissions.

Right after finishing of putting his uniform on, Sora left the bathroom only to see Byleth waiting right front of him.

"So, how do I look, Byleth?" he asked her about his new aspect.

"You-You look great, Sora. You will enroll in the academy under my teachings." Said the woman visibly blushed and stunned upon seeing how handsome his new student was. "Anyway, let's take a look at the academy and meet the students, shall we?"

That was how they toured the academy and Sora's new school life inside Garreg Mach monastery began.

**END OF THE CHAPTER 3**


	5. Meeting the Black Eagles (Sora)

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**CHAPTER 4 – MEETING THE BLACK EAGLES (SORA)**

**/**

Sora and Byleth wandered around the monastery without messing with the students, the keyblade wielder was somewhat fascinated for this new lifestyle.

"Don't you think they are looking us?" Sora felt the curious glare from a few students.

"Don't worry, they don't know that you're my student." Byleth whispered him in a low voice so nobody else listened.

"But I think they know I'm already a student here." Sora intuited the others' thoughts.

"Sorta, but they still don't know which house we will enter together." Byleth gave him an understatement that they didn't know that he was her pupil at the time, independently from whichever the house they chose.

**/**

**ADVISORY ROOM**

Meanwhile, Seteth was hesitant to his superior's words, to think to appoint stranger people as a teacher and student, it seemed very questionable to him.

"Have you no intention of changing your mind, Lady Rhea? Appointing these strangers, these children no less! As a professor and student at our esteemed academy is…" Seteth wasn't pleasant with her actions for appointing Sora and Byleth without any sort of prior entrance evaluation.

"I have made my decision, Seteth." Rhea was firm in her words. "I know worrying comes naturally to you, but there is truly no need. This 'stranger' is Jeralt's flesh and blood, and the other one has the necessary tools to defend himself and he helped her to save those students, after all."

"I can't say that's all too comforting." He questioned her showing himself skeptical. "How trustworthy is this Jeralt character? Is he not the man who went missing after the great fire 21 years ago? I would remind you that Flayn is now here with us as well. I beg of you… please consider whether this is an unnecessary risk."

"Seteth. They have my trust. Let that be enough for you as well. More importantly, I have received a report from Shamir. I am increasingly concerned about a matter regarding our suspicious individual. We cannot ignore those who harbor ill will toward the church, especially if they are frequenting Garreg Mach."

"Yes, that matter is of great importance as well. I shall continue my investigation." He understood the archbishop words, they had to be cautious for any suspected individuals. "Lady Rhea… For now, I will have faith that you are placing your trust with the utmost care. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence."

**/**

Elsewhere, Sora and Byleth were exploring around the monastery, noticing some students hanging out and doing what every teenager would do in that age, like Dimitri training with his friends, while Edelgard was seen casting a sort of magic resulting in showing some of her classmates a crest.

Claude was also seen hanging out with his classmates as well and a girl with long white hair seemed diligent at her studies, as she seemed like she wanted to learn anything she could.

Little the keyblade wielder knew is that some girls were staring at him with curiosity due to his exotic appearance attracting their attention.

Sora's life couldn't be any more complicated and fun at the same time, could it?

"Err… I-I think the girls are looking at me." he was feeling nervous feeling the girls' stare, it looked like he came from a very far oriental continent.

"Easy, Sora, you will get used to it." Byleth calmed him down telling him that they will treat him like a normal student later.

After exploring the place, they stepped in the audience chamber with Rhea awaiting for them.

"Hello." Byleth greeted the archbishop.

"Hello, I assume you are already aware that you will be teaching and Sora is your student here at the Officers Academy. Correct?" she said with a blank and angelical tone.

"We are, Lady Rhea." Byleth nodded at her words.

"To start, please speak with the three leaders. You guys should also take a look around the academy and acquaint yourselves with your new home." Rhea instructed them to take an eye around the academy. "That is your first task here at the monastery. Please let me know if you accept it."

"You have our word, Lady Rhea." Said Sora ready to carry out the task.

"Once you two have finished, come and speak to me."

"With your permission." Finished Byleth in the same mood.

They both set up to meet with the three leaders and the students, even though Sora knew beforehand that he would be overwhelmed by the massive students who sought to work with him, or something else.

**/**

**RECEPTION HALL**

Sora and Byleth entered at the reception hall stooping onto few students who were having conversation at each other.

"Look! Isn't this boy they are talking about?" whispered one of the female students upon noticing them.

"Yeah. It must be him. He's so cute." Seconded one of the girls in the same tone.

Alright, it turns out that Sora was right, his exotic appearance got their attention as they never had seen somebody who didn't belong to neither region of Fodlan, but the very far oriental continent like him. Everything was brand new for him. Sora was to about begin a new school life and live a lot of things he did not because of his journey as a keyblade wielder.

Just few steps ahead, they spotted Edelgard just as she stood up upon seeing them come closer.

"Hello, Sora, Byleth." The future empress greeted them in a good mood.

"Hey, Edelgard, how're you doing?" he saluted her back in the cheerful tone.

"I'm fine, thanks Sora." said the white-haired girl astonished by his informal and casual tone. "So, Byleth, you've accepted a teaching position here… Pity. I was hoping you two would lend your strength to the Empire."

"Well, they asked me to teach at the academy." Byleth explained the reason to get that position.

"Okay. I never properly introduced myself, did I?" the future empress bowed in front of the duo introducing herself. "My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am the princess and heir apparent to the Adrestian Empire. I wonder if you'll take part with leading the Black Eagles… I hope you two have had a chance to meet everyone. Would you like to know more about any of the Black Eagles?"

"Of course, go ahead." Byleth asked her to introduce the others.

Edelgard then put out a sort of a current classmates' list.

"Could you tell us anything about us?" Sora asked her to be the first to tell them anything.

"Me? Well… some think I'm a bit distant. Arrogant, even. But there's little to be done. One day, I must rise to become Adrestia's next empress. What else… Well, it seems to me that we may have similar personalities."

"Wow, you really are a determined girl, Edelgard." Said Sora curious about her ambitions.

"Thanks, everyone has motives to reach that state." She responded chuckling a little bit. "Anyway, let's talk about the others."

Edelgard mentioned the following students like this way:

-Hubert was the heir of Marquis Vestra. He had served Edelgard since she was a child, someone could assume that he was a cold person, but by inside, he's quite astute and reasonable.

-Ferdinand was thinking of her as a bitter rival and is always trying to challenge her, which makes him more of an arrogant person. Nonetheless, his house is that of Duke Aegir, which produced Adrestia's Prime Ministers. That family of his seemed too pleased with its own status.

-Linhardt is remarkably intelligent, but he only cared about what he particularly is interested in and nothing else. He is also fond of napping, which made him a lazy person. Had he any work ethic or sense of duty to speak of, he would have become destined to be an official of the Empire.

-Caspar is the second son of Count of Bergliez, he has no inheritance in his future, which is perhaps why he was always willing to eagerly prove himself. He has overly energetic personality and tends to rush headfirst into any battle, and thus he needed to have someone watching over him.

-Bernadetta is the Count Varley's only daughter. Anyone could assume that she's a bit eccentric but she seemed to be like a gentle soul. However, she intends to shut herself away in her room and not care to leave, but Edelgard would make sure she finds a way to class.

-Dorothea was the only non-noble nor commoner to enroll at the academy and join the Black Eagles. She is a songstress from a famous opera company in the Empire. Nobody knows what brought her in.

-Petra comes from Brigid, an archipelago that was located to the west of Fodlan. She's the granddaughter from their king. Brigid is a vassal state of the Empire, which is how Petra came to enroll at the academy. She's incredibly smart and studious.

"I would love to meet them in person." stated Sora willing to meet with the other students from the red brand.

"Believe me, they are going to like you." Said Edelgard enthusiastic with his initiative.

The brown-haired boy nodded showing his usual cheerful smile and left the place being followed by his new teacher.

"_Sora… You don't look like a typical noble nor a common student. Actually, you seem to be the most unique person I have met._" Edelgard looked attracted to his person, actually, she had a rather curious feeling which made her face slightly blushed.

**/**

**OFFICERS ACADEMY**

After leaving the hall, Sora and Byleth arrived at the yard which turned out to be the officers academy, and soon they noticed three classroom that were bonded altogether and a few students hanging out together.

"So, do you want to meet the Black Eagles, don't you?" Byleth intuited Sora's initiative.

"I do."

"Well, I think I will meet with Claude's classmates."

"Okay, see you later." with that, Sora set up to head to the red team's classroom.

They both split at different directions and headed to the different classrooms.

"Excuse me, is this the Black Eagles classroom?" Sora asked a student standing in front of the entrance.

"Yes, this is the classroom of the Black Eagles, which is for students from Adrestian people. I think you know that our house leader is the Princess Edelgard, right?"

"Yep, they informed me of that, thank you." Sora gave him an understatement that he's been up to date.

"I see, so it's you and the teacher who saved our leader… welcome." The student congratulated him for saving her leader. "There are many other nobles among our ranks as well."

"Thanks."

**/**

**BLACK EAGLES CLASSROOM**

Upon entering the classroom, Sora was met with lots of amazed glares and amusement as well.

"H-Hey… How're you guys doin'?" he smiled at everyone.

"Hello!" the others greeted him the same way.

What he did first was to approach a pale-skinned and dark-green haired man along with a purple-haired woman.

"Hi guys." Sora saluted them cheerfully.

"Hello, young master, I am Hubert. A humble servant of Lady Edelgard. I heard you and the woman came to aid of her Highness. You two have my sincere thanks. This is Petra. She has come all the way from Brigid to study in the Empire. Back on her archipelago, she is actually a princess. In Fodlan terms, she would be called heir to the throne.

"Nice to meet you, Petra." Sora said handshaking her.

"Nice to meet you too, er…" she responded the same way without knowing remembering his name very well.

"My name is Sora." He helped her to know his name.

"Oh, good. I am called Petra. I am pleased to me meeting with… no, I am pleased to have met you." Said Petra trying to speak fine with her Basic English.

"I too, see you." Sora proceeded to meet the others.

He now approached the two guys, one who was the light-blue hair and eyes, the other one was dark-green haired and eyes with the same color.

"Hey! Is it true that you and the girl saved Edelgard?" the light-blue haired greeted the keyblade wielder in energetic mood.

"Of course! This is something we had to do." Sora expressed in the same mood, astonishing the guy in the process.

"That's incredible, dude! My name's Caspar by the way. Pleased to meet ya!" he introduced himself in the cheerful way.

"Same!" Sora shook hands in the same way.

"Linhardt. Good-bye." The dark-green haired boy expressed blankly and lazy tone.

"Yeesh, Linhardt. How'd you get into academy with those manners? So, are you a student here too? Maybe we'll be in the same class!" said Caspar reproaching the boy and asked the brown-haired boy if he was to be in the same classroom.

"I'm just touring the academy, so I still have not made a choice." Sora stated that he hadn't had made his decision.

"I see, if you decide to join us then you're gonna have a great time, Sora!" Caspar asked him to think very well which house he should join.

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you guys." Sora separated from them to go approach to the other students.

This time, Sora made few steps and approached the other two people who resulted to be a man with orange hair and a purple-haired girl.

"Hey, guys." He greeted them, but little he did know was that this would flip the girl out in the process.

"Ah! Do-Don't scare like that! I don't talk to the strangers!" the purple-haired girl freaked out, surprising the boy.

"Bernadetta, this is no stranger!" the orange-haired boy made her look that Sora wasn't there to hurt her nor anything. "Our house leader owes this person a great debt. Is that no right?"

"Yeah, this is something that we had to do to save her, that's it." Sora explained them that he did what he had to do and this wasn't the big thing as they thought. "And, I'm sorry to scare you like this, I didn't mean to."

"It-It's alright… I-I get nervous all the time." Bernadetta explained him while looking away in that state and trying to not get blushed.

"I am Ferdinand von Aegir, legitimate son of the Aegir family, the Empire's foremost house. Are you going to join our class? I look forward to getting better acquitted with you."

"I'll take it into account." Sora separated from them to approach the last student from Edelgard's Black Eagles' members list.

The last one to meet resulted in being a slightly tall beautiful girl, a little more than Sora in height, has ever met, and she wore brown hair, green eyes and a black hat. Her uniform was unbuttoned in half making it show some of cleavage, although her black blouse made the best to keep them from showing anymore skin.

"Hello, you handsome man." She saluted him in a suggestive tone, making the keyblade wielder freeze and have his face blushed and sweat nervously.

"H-Hi." Sora greeted her while trying to look at her eyes in this state.

"You look like lovely person, boy." The girl flirted with him. "What attracts my attention is your exotic appearance… What is your name?"

"I-I'm Sora, and you are…" he introduced himself to the girl stuttering due to her beauty.

"Sora… You seem to come from very afar, don't you? I take it you have a unique name." said the girl smiling at him in the same flirting mood. "My name is Dorothea Arnault, I could show you around the monastery if you want. Before I joined the academy, I was a member of an opera company in the Empire, you should hear me sing sometime."

"I-I'll do it. Nice to meet you, Dorothea." Sora smiled between the teeth, amazing the girl. "_It's also what Manuela used to do before becoming a teacher._"

"I like that smile of yours, Sora. I would love that you join us, if you want to, or course." Dorothea motivated him to choose their class.

"I'll think about it, thanks."

"See you, you handsome man." Dorothea saw him leave the classroom with a smile in her face, she thought of him as such.

With that, Sora set up to meet Dimitri's class.

**END OF CHAPTER 4**

**AUTHOR NOTES:**

**Thank you for supporting this job, I realized that making and uploading English fics could bring more followers and some feedback.**

**I hope you guys are enjoying the story and this is going to be the Three Houses adaptation with some slight but significant differences from the original game's plot.**

**If you want to suggest something, feedback is appreciated.**

**Anyway, peace out. **


	6. Meeting the Golden Deers (Byleth)

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Fir100: Thank you for praising the story, I will do my best to bring the most entertaining plot as I can.**

**NinjaFang1331: Thanks, I'm doing my effort to make the story as entertaining as good for you guys.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 5 – MEETING THE GOLDEN DEERS (BYLETH)**

While Sora was meeting the Black Eagles, Byleth resorted to meet the Golden Deer students and its leader: Claude.

"Hello, Claude." She greeted him in a nice manner.

"Well, well. Scored a teaching gig here, did ya?" the Golden Deers leader greeted her back casually. "Talk about a great first impression. I guess that means I'd better introduce myself properly. I'm Claude von Riegan. I'm from the ruling house of the Leicester Alliance, but don't worry too much about all that madness."

"You look too relaxed, Claude." said Byleth puzzled about his laid back and care free personality.

"Of course, Byleth, I just want to have a relaxing life, only that. I'm guessing you don't know which class you'll be teaching yet, do you? I bet you'd like ours. We're not as… difficult as the other two."

"That sounds like a good proposition." Commented Byleth thoughtfully.

"Have you met the folks from the Golden Deer House yet?" Claude asked her if she had met his classmates before.

"No, I'm planning on meeting them inside." she responded negatively giving him that understanding.

"Care to know more about anyone? I have a member list."

"Well, if you say so. How about you go first?"

"Piqued your interest, have I? As luck would have it, I'm pretty curious about you as well. But what's life without a bit of mystery? Let's just spend the next year or so learning about each other, little by little."

This is how Claude explained Byleth about his classmates this way:

-Lorenz is the heir of Gloucester territory. He is arrogant and fancies himself a lady's man, but deep down his apparently arrogant demeanor, he is a really devoted and honest man.

-Raphael came from a merchant family, but his parents died in an accident, so he had a rough life before he enrolled in the academy. Despite all that, he's just about the most cheerful guy that anyone would want to hang out. His passion are training, eating, and that's about.

-Ignatz is the second son of a merchant family, since his brother is inheriting the business, he has been training to become a knight, but he truly doesn't look enthusiastic about this, he just probably does this to please his parents.

-Lysithea is the daughter of Count Ordelia, and probably the youngest student there. But she gets angry if somebody treat her like a child, and Claude had done this in purpose just to mess with her.

-Marianne is Margrave Edmund's daughter, she's an introvert girl who rarely interacts and talks with other students, so is probably that nobody had never ever heard her speak.

-Hilda is the only daughter of Duke Goneril, it is said that her father and brother had coddle her quite a bit, which had made her lazy, nothing too unusual for a noble.

-Leonie had enrolled because she wanted to be a mercenary, she said that her father was a hunter. She is pretty blunt and stingy as they come. Also a habitual saver, and she hopes to repay her village for helping to send her to the academy.

"Thank you for mentioning me, with your pardon." Byleth thanked him for providing information from the students.

**/**

**GOLDEN DEERS CLASSROOM**

Byleth stepped in the classroom to meet the said students and know a bit of them.

"Hello, everyone." She greeted them. "I came here to meet you guys."

She approached to a girl with dark-orange hair and a well-built blonde man.

"How are you guys?" Byleth greeted them nicely.

"Are you someone's guest? The dining hall's that way if that's what you're looking for." said the muscled man in a cheerful tone.

"No Raphael. That's Captain Jeralt's kid." The dark-orange haired girl corrected him. "Hi, I'm Leonie Pinelli, Captain's Jeralt's first and greatest apprentice! I'm sure he's told you about me?"

"Errr… he has never told me about it." Byleth told her that she didn't never knew about this.

"I see… There's always a first time for everything. What's your name?" said Leonie mildly astonished by her answer.

"My name is Byleth, they had assigned me to teach here."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Raphael Kristen."

"Nice to meet you, guys." said Byleth before meeting others students.

She then approached two female students, one had both pink-haired ponytails and eyes of the same color, and the other one had a light-blue tied hair, although the latter she seemed gaunt, something that had Byleth quite concerned.

"Hey, are you one of the mercenaries? Everyone's been talking about you." The pink-haired girl greeted her in an enthusiastic tone. "I'm Hilda Valentine Goneril. And her name is…"

"M-Marianne von Edmund…" said the light-blue haired girl in the subdued voice.

"Nice to meet you…" Byleth responded in a worried tone towards her wellbeing.

"Are you joining the Knights of Seiros or something? Well, I look forward to seeing more of you and that boy with that mysterious weapon!"

"I will take it into account, see you." Byleth sat up to go to meet the other students.

"See you!" said Hilda saying her bye byes.

Byleth approached the other two students, which were a long white-haired girl and a dark yellow-haired boy who wore glasses.

"Oh, so you're one of the skilled mercenaries who saved Claude, are you?" she greeted the professor in a casual tone.

"Yes." Byleth nodded to her words.

"Oh, you are? It's such an honor to meet you! Ignatz Victor. My parents are Alliance merchants."

"And I am Lysithea von Ordelia. Please do not forget it."

Byleth nodded her head and headed towards the last student which turned out to be an indigo-haired guy with… some questionable tendencies.

"Hello." She greeted her using her usual nice manners.

"Ah. You must be one of those renowned mercenaries who saved Claude along with that good-for-nothing guy with strange hair." said the indigo-haired boy showing sort of arrogance and thus insulting Sora, something that Byleth didn't like at all.

"Listen, we had to give them a hand, otherwise, he wouldn't be here alive." Byleth berated him for being so ungrateful and defended his student. "And that boy with this 'strange' hair is Sora.

"Alright, my name is Lorenz Hellman Gloucester. You will want to remember it." He introduced himself in a daring tone.

"Byleth, I tell you the same, have a good day." she responded in the same tone, leaving the students in a slightly annoyed mood.

**/**

Byleth was not pleased with Lorenz's behavior upon leaving the classroom, what really was a nuisance for her is that he showed his bravado and insulted Sora.

Even though she didn't use any way of violence, she resorted to put him in his place by warning him to watch his words and who is dealing with.

It was then when Sora appeared before her.

"Hey, Byleth!" Sora said hi upon meeting with her. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just I stepped into somebody who turned out to be an arrogant guy." she explained him about what had happened between her and Lorenz. "He was talking bad of you so… I had to put him in his place."

"Hold on, you didn't…" Sora was intuiting her actions, when…

"No, I didn't hit him, I just left him a crystal clear warning that he shouldn't mess with you." Byleth clarified him leading him to understand that she did not lay a finger on him.

"I see… thanks Byleth, anyway, I have met the Black Eagle guys, they look like a peculiar family between each other, but it's an interesting class." Sora gave his opinion about the classroom showing some enthusiasm.

"You seem to be eager to join them. Have you seen the Dimitri's class?" Byleth understood his student's words, besides asking him if he had toured the future king's classroom.

"They all seem to be nice, especially Mercedes, Annette, Ingrid, and Ashe. Even though I stepped into someone who wants to challenge me a combat.

**/**

_**FLASHBACK – BLUE LIONS CLASSROOM**_

_After meeting the Black Eagles, Sora decided to meet Dimitri's class and resorted to go inside._

_There, he was met with curious looks from some of the students, and went to meet the two girls who were standing at a side of the door._

"_Oh, who's this? You don't look familiar at all? Are you a new student here at the monastery?" said a girl with a blonde long hair._

"_Yep, I am a student." Sora confirmed them, astonishing the both girls._

"_Oh, Mercie! Do you think is that one of the mercenaries that people have been talking about?" said a girl with an orange hair while looking at the keyblade wielder._

"_Well, I just had to help, that's it." Sora clarified telling her that he had to it to save Dimitri and the others._

"_Wow. Now that I think about it, that does sound like something Dimitri may have said… I suppose you'll be enrolling at the Officers Academy too then? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mercedes, and this is my best friend—"_

"_I'm Annette! It's nice to meet you." said the girl having a mild blush in her face._

"_I'm Sora, nice to meet you too, girls." He introduced himself to the girls, before heading to other students. "I gotta meet the others, see ya."_

"_See you!" _

"_Don't you think he's so cute?" Annette whispered to her friend's ear._

"_Mmmm, he looks very daring, Annette, but despite that… He's very seems very nice, I saw it with my own eyes." Mercedes remarked the Sora's facet._

"_Even though the majority of our male classmates have their own charm, Sora has me curious, and I bet Ingrid must feel the same." Annette made this comment in that state._

"_Probably." Finalized Mercedes smiling at him._

_Sora then approached a short white-haired boy along with a well-built man with the same hair color._

"_Hello, guys."_

"_Hi, there! You must be one of everyone's talking about. I'm Ashe. Great to meet you. This is Dedue. He serves Prince Dimitri."_

"_I have heard that you rescued His Highness. Words cannot express my gratitude. Should you ever require my strength, please know that I will hasten to repay my debt."_

"_It's nice to meet you, guys." said Sora before meeting the last students._

_There he encountered an attractive blonde and an indigo-haired boy having a conversation with each other._

"_Hey, guys." Sora greeted them in nice mood. _

"_Hello. I have heard all about what you did from Prince Dimitri. As a citizen of Faerghus, I thank you." The blonde girl thanked him for his actions in the last night._

"_He also said you're quite skilled. And he doesn't just say things like that. I look forward to sparring with you and beating you." said the indigo-haired boy in a daring tone, to the girl's dismay._

"_Felix, must you always speak of fighting right away? Oh! And, uh… you may call me Ingrid. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She berated the guy for his behavior before introducing herself._

"_I'm Sora." He answered back while feeling a little blush at his face, as she had reminded him of Kairi, and Aqua due to her similar attitude and personality._

"_I'm Felix, I would like to spar with you sometime, Sora."_

"_Felix, will you cut it out already?!" Ingrid gabbled trying to persuade him to stop obsessing over fighting._

"_Okay, okay, whatever you say." Said Felix giving up apparently._

**/**

"So this is how you met these guys, Sora." said Byleth curious after hearing his story.

"Yep, compared to the Black Eagles, the house seem… average per say." Sora whispered to her ear to avoid everyone else hearing these words. "So, have you made a choice about which house should we head to?"

"Yep." Byleth nodded upon making up her mind.

They both had made of choice about which house would lead from now on, there were three classrooms, but they could only choose one.

**END OF CHAPTER 5**


	7. Sora's new school life begins

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Jmw: Yep, this is my biggest challenge I have right now, not only bringing this in English but choosing one girl at the end, which can be headbreaking, especially if it's a harem story, but don't worry, dating won't be the main focus in this fic, I'll do what I can to balance the romance and action.**

**NinjaFang1331: You will figure out soon enough.**

**Fir100: You guessed right, I wouldn't mind playing other routes but the black eagles is my favorite house for obvious reasons.**

**RedRat8: Yep, that's right, Sora's keyblade made a connection to Byleth's heart thus he's either able to see or hear Sothis. This is a Kingdom Hearts logic after all.**

**CHAPTER 6 – SORA'S NEW SCHOOL LIFE BEGINS**

**AUDIENCE CHAMBER**

After touring the three classrooms, Sora and Byleth headed to the audience chamber to communicate with Rhea and the others.

"Hey." Sora saluted them with nice mood.

"Oh, hi, Sora, Byleth, how are you two enjoying your time at the academy thus far? I hope you have found our halls brimming with vitality of well-intentioned souls." said Rhea with her usual angelical voice.

"Hm. I suppose it is time for you Byleth to take charge of one of our three houses of students." Seteth stated with a stern look that they had to make a decision to choose one of the classroom to teach. "I must note that I am personally against entrusting some as lacking in trackable history as yourself with such a task, but this is what the archbishop desires."

"The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer… All so different. I hope you both have made it a point to get to know each of them." Manuela clarified them that each house had different assets between each other. Which it meant their ups and downs.

"Since you two are new here, and Master Sora comes from a very far place, we have decided to allow you first pick, Manuela and I will take charge of the remaining two houses." Hanneman gave them the green light to choose which house they should stay with.

"Mmmm… Which house will we choose…?" Sora though about, it was a hard decision to take.

The Black Eagles House was composed of students from the Adrestian Empire. Many were nobility and most of them used magic.

The Blue Lions were composed of students from the Kingdom of Faerghus. Most of them value chivalry and excel at military arts.

Golden Deer House had the students from the Leicester Alliance. As per regional tradition, many of them were skilled archers.

However, Byleth started to understand Sora's will to be part of a magic-based and fun classroom, thus she came up with the choice she already had in mind.

"We will take part of the Black Eagles." Byleth made a big choice which surprised everyone.

"Are we going to Edelgard's class?! That's great!" said Sora in enthusiastic voice.

"So, you have chosen the Black Eagles, led by Edelgard. Correct?" Rhea asked them if this was their final choice.

"Yes." Byleth affirmed her choice.

"Your heart made its choice then, Byleth. All I ask is that you guide these open minds with virtue, care and sincerity."

"They are all promising youths who bear the weight of Fodlan's future upon their shoulders. I hope you appreciate what an honor it is to lead them." Seteth commented having expectations onto her.

Suddenly, a light-green haired girl with eyes of the same color appeared from nowhere to accidently interrupt the business.

"Brother? Oh! I am sincerely sorry! I did not mean to interrupt." The girl apologized for stepping into them.

"Flayn, I am in the middle of something. Is it urgent? Seteth asked her if she had some important to say.

"No, no, it's nothing. More importantly… Who are these two?" she pointed at them with curiosity.

"These are our newest professor and student at the academy." Seteth introduced them to her.

"Oh my! A few new additions to the Officers Academy! I am so very pleased to meet you, professor, and you, a new young student."

"My name is Byleth, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Sora."

"I'm Seteth's little sister, Flayn. I am so happy to make your acquaintance."

"Let us focus on the topic at hand. There is something you two should be aware of." Seteth were giving them an important notice. "In a few days' time, there will be a mock battle between the three houses, intended to gauge the current progress of the students. We will be using this battle as an opportunity to ascertain your own abilities as well, Byleth. Please do not disappoint the archbishop. That's all."

**/**

**BLACK EAGLES CLASSROOM**

Sora and Byleth had made the choice to lead the Black Eagles instead of Blue Lions or Golden Deer. This was something that they both had considered earlier.

Just right after stepping in the classroom to meet with the students, the navy-blue haired woman said this.

"Hello, guys, I'm here to tell you that we have made a choice." Byleth introduced herself. "My name is Byleth and I will be your professor and lead you guys from now on."

"Wait. So our new professor is… you?!" Caspar was astonished expressing a lot of energy after hearing those words. "I didn't see that coming. Which means… Sora. You gonna be our classmate, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Sora affirmed his words.

"Easy, Caspar. Aren't you being a bit rude?" Dorothea reproached him for his hot-blooded attitude.

"You know it's a waste of time to expect politeness from him." Linhardt remarked his behavior. "It will be a pleasure learning from you, Professor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to take a nap."

"Ah! Don't look at me like that! Oh, and… please don't talk to me too much either." Bernadetta looked like she was afraid from them due to paranoia, something that it had puzzled the keyblade wielder.

"What's the matter with her?" Sora lifted an eyebrow puzzled due to her strange behavior.

"Sorry for the chaos you two have walked into. "Dorothea apologized for that mess with the girl.

"I hear we are rather close in age, Professor, Sora." Ferdinand spoke acting up as a noble wannabe. "I hope you do not mind if we treat you like one of us. In our class, we try to treat each other as equals, despite any differences in age or status."

Wow, that amazed Sora, given that he had always addressed the King Mickey or anyone with a lot of age gap or status with formalities, but joining the class could change his life forever, up to a certain point, or course.

"Personally, I would like to include you guys in that inner circle." Ferdinand invited them to join them.

"I don't mind it at all." Sora was more than happy to join the class.

"You have a gut, Sora, Professor Byleth. I will take great joy from your teachings." said Petra in the same mood but speaking basic language.

"Errr… Petra, I believe you mean to say that our professor and new classmate have guts. That's different from having a gut." Dorothea corrected her. "You can't go around saying someone so slim and attractive has gut!"

"Oh? Please take my apologizes. I have not yet mastered this language." Petra apologized for his broken English.

"Sora, Byleth, I want you to know that it's perfectly acceptable for you guys to treat me as you do the others." Edelgard clarified them that she was ok with them addressing her without any formalities. "I may be the imperial princess, but here at the academy, I'm just another student."

"If you say so…" Byleth nodded being fine with leaving the formalities aside.

"That said, know that I have high expectations from you. And high hopes. But I'm certain you can lead the Black Eagles House to greatness." The future empress stated that she was expecting the greatness from her.

"Sure, sure. Now, let's break the ice with a training session! I want to see our new teacher and our classmate in action." Caspar expressed enthusiasm.

"Why will the ice be broken? Is this a custom I have missed in my studies?" Petra didn't quite understand what the light-blue haired boy meant.

"Not the real ice, just the ice of… um… Well, it just means let's get to know each other." Caspar explained her what he meant about his words.

"I don't want to train! Let's stay in the classroom and…learn from a book." Bernadetta gabbled showing nerves to turn around to see her classmates.

"Let's calm down and have a nice cup of tea, how about? Doesn't sound lovely, Sora?" Dorothea flirted with the brown-hair boy.

"I will take it into account sometime." Sora nodded slightly blushed to her words.

"I know we all agreed to treat each other as equals, but there is a limit to what I can tolerate." Ferdinand commented acting up the same way as he acted earlier. "The esteemed Black Eagles House requires order."

Everyone agreed to his words, there had to require order to keep themselves under control, even though they all seemed to be the most undisciplined of all the three houses, at a minor extent.

"Looks like your first job will be to quiet down this racket, professor Byleth. I don't envy you." Hubert said in a monotone tone suggesting her to educate the students and take them to a correct path.

"Ugh, they're not normally this… rowdy." Edelgard recognized that they needed some discipline. "I hope you can manage, Byleth."

"I will do whatever I can to lead you guys into becoming the best warriors." Byleth pointed out her purpose to begin the first class. "As you can see, I'm a mercenary who came to teach you the combat and defense arts. My name is Byleth and I will guide you guys throughout the time I'm here. You must have meet Sora, right? Well, let me introduce you properly. This is Sora Nomura, he comes from a very far oriental continent."

"Wow, you come from very afar? That's cool, dude!" Caspar looked amazed after hearing those words.

"Yeah, sorta." Sora nodded to his words. "I've been wandering around Fodlan until I came here."

"Well, in any case you're welcome to our classroom, Sora." said Ferdinand in the same mood.

This is how Sora's school life began. He might have gone through every single battle against the darkness and learned anything from Yen Sid, but now he was a student under guidance from a former mercenary like Byleth and had to experience and get used to this new school life he never had before.

The class had passed with normality, it was the first time that Sora was attending a normal class and it was obviously difficult for him to understand it, especially the theoretical portion.

Nonetheless, he was able to do fine in some subjects such the weapon, attack, and defense practical arts, all thanks to Byleth's way to make things simple.

As soon as the students left the classroom, Sora and Byleth had a conversation.

"So… How was my class?" she asked him about his first day.

"Well… I'd say it was regular." said Sora recognizing the difficulties to adjust himself to the new school life.

"Why is that? I saw you doing your best to finish every assignment that you were given." Byleth lifted an eyebrow puzzled for his answer. "Is there something that you couldn't understand?"

"It's just… I know it sounds crazy but I have never gone to school." Sora clarified her as they were leaving the classroom.

"You never went to school?" she inquired him, to which he nodded with his head. "I see, I didn't go to school either, but they taught me everything I know. And I'm certain that you learned to fight like you did in the last night."

"Yep, I had to defeat the heartless that came out from anywhere." Sora justified his motives to learn how to fight and use his keyblade. "It's really hard to explain, but I learned a lot of skills to defend myself."

"You know? You are the first person who behaves differently to the others, Sora." Byleth gave him a compliment showing a minor blush on her face.

"In which sense, professor?" he asked his teacher feeling the same.

"I mean, you are way different from the other male students from the academy, some may have the same energetic sense as you, but what gets my attention, it's your nature." She praised him for his friendly personality.

"My nature? Well…" Sora smiled between his teeth. "I always have been like this since I was a child."

"Since you were a child? Unbelievable, you really are likeable." Byleth commented showing a subtly smile, something that made him melt by inside. "Anyway, let's go see Hanneman."

**CREST SCHOLAR OFFICE **

Sora and Byleth had decided to stop by Hanneman's office to investigate the crest stuff.

"Say, while you're here… I'd like to use this device I designed to determine whether the power of a Crest resides within you guys. Won't hurt a bit. Promise." The scholar made them see that nothing could go wrong with his exam.

"Excuse me, Hanneman, but, we have no idea about the crests." Byleth admitted not knowing anything.

"you don't know about Crests, Byleth? Well, allow me to tell you guys everything-absolutely everything-about them. Is your calendar clear? It will take a while."

Hanneman mentioned them that the crests were a fascinating topic, but in order to dive deeper into that topic, one had to understand what Crests were, and they were power incarnate.

They were said to have been bestowed upon humans by the goddess countless ages ago. They existed within the flesh, and passed down through bloodlines.

"Those who carry Crests may excel at magic, display exceptional strength, or any number of boons." Hanneman stated those words which attracted Sora's attention.

"So, if anyone wore a Crest, that means that somebody can get stronger?" said the boy intrigued by the scholar's words.

"Looks like it, master Sora, each Crest has its own power, the nature of which is beyond mortal understanding. For now."

"And you believe we have Crests?" inquired Byleth the same way as his student.

"I suspect as much, yes. But we won't know for sure unless I look into the matter." Hanneman assumed her question in this mood. "As I said, Crests are passed down through the blood. However, just because someone carries a Crest does not necessarily mean their descendants will inherit it as well. Only a scares few descendants of a Crest's bloodline end up inheriting that Crest's power. Perhaps one of your ancestors bore Crest, and you two just happened to inherit it."

"We did?" Sora seemed surprised upon the scholar's statement, he never had known, nor suspected that he was holding a Crest, just like Byleth.

"Seems like it, that's how a Crest usually presents itself, after all."

"Do what you can to find out." she asked him to check them out.

"Yes, of course, professor. I'll get to the bottom of it straight away." Hanneman was more than willing to begin his crest examination. "Now then, please go ahead and hold out your arm over this device here. Who wants to go first?"

"Sora, do you want to go first?" Byleth proposed him.

"Okay."

Hanneman put out a Crest scanner in front of them to figure it out if they both hold the said Crests.

Sora put his hand in the scanner and waited for the results for a few seconds, when they were released they looked astonished.

"What is this?!" expressed Hanneman in amazement. "A pattern I've never seen before… Is it possible an as-yet undiscovered Crest has been detected?"

"What?! Is that… a Crest?" Sora was stunned upon figure out that he indeed wielded a Crest.

The Crest that he was wearing, resembled his keyblade's token, he didn't have an idea on how he obtained the Crest, but for some matter of fate, Sora felt that it would help him overcome every struggle he encountered.

"Never thought you wore a Crest, Sora." Byleth expressed the same feeling as the others. "Anyway, I'll see if I have one as well."

Byleth did the same proceeding measures, and like Sora, she also found out that she wore a Crest which resembled the flames.

"Wow! You also wear a Crest!" Sora expressed in amazement for his teacher.

"To think there are still Crests out there that even I am aware of! How thrilling!" Hanneman said in an eccentric voice.

"Ea-Easy there, mister Hanneman." Sora laughed trying to calm the old man down.

"Ahem… Pardon my unrestrained jubilation. I have much to consider. You two may leave now." Hanneman apologized for his behavior aside of letting them go. "I have more research to do in regard of these Crests. Yes, so very much more research. But for now, your work here is done."

"Thank you, if you'll excuse us." said Byleth taking her leave with his student.

With that, they left the office with Hanneman looking very curious about the Crests.

"Hmm… What could this line here be indicating? Perhaps it represents a lack of symmetry… or perhaps…" expressed the old man with a smile in his face, showing a lot of enthusiasm.

**END OF CHAPTER 6**

**THAT'S RIGHT, SORA WEARS A CREST, BUT, HOW DID HE OBTAIN IT? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL REMAIN MYSTERY FOR A LONG TIME.**

**ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS I'M DOING TO BRING YOU THIS STORY, I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING IT.**

**PEACE OUT.**


	8. Meeting at Cafeteria

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Zach Flare SOLDIER Class S: I was thinking the same, Sora, Edelgard and Byleth could be an excellent team so it's very likely.**

**CHAPTER 7 – MEETING AT CAFETERIA.**

**/**

Now that Sora joined the Black Eagles, the list of the students went like this:

Professor in charge: Byleth

Sora Nomura

Edelgard von Hresvelg

Dorothea Arnault

Ferdinand von Aegir

Hubert von Vestra

Caspar von Bergliez

Bernadetta von Varley

Linhardt von Hevring

Petra Macneary

**/**

**SORA'S ROOM – Nighttime.**

While everyone was asleep, Sora was lying in his bed face up thinking about how he spent his first school day.

Even if he had met his new classmates, he could not stop thinking about his friends Riku, Kairi, and everyone else.

He missed them, he really was missing them so much.

"Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy. I wonder how is everyone right now…" murmured Sora while staring at a picture of him smiling with them in his gumiphone. "If it must be this way, then I have no choice to spend the rest of my life forming myself as a noble… or a mercenary like my teacher. If only there was a way to go to back…"

Sora left out a sigh leaving his gumiphone on his night table and got up to contemplate the sea of stars and a beautiful moonlight.

**/**

**[KINGDOM HEARTS 3D: DREAM DROP DISTANCE BGM: TRAVERSE IN TRANCE]**

Making sure that there no one else outside, Sora made his way to the grass and lied down to stare at the night sky with the sea of the stars.

Everything was calm as he was reflecting about his journey, his friends and finding a way to return to his world, he had used the power of waking and he ended up in Fodlan.

Sora was enjoying his silent night when little he did know that someone was watching him stealthy, and was getting closer to him.

"Hello, Sora." A voiced was heard that make him jump scare, it was his teacher, who wore a pink nightgown.

"A-Ah! Te-Teacher? You scared me!" he gabbled in this state. "What're you doing here?"

"I am the one who should ask you that, young boy." said Byleth using his teacher stance. "Don't you think it's too late to be here at these hours?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep so came up with an idea to come here to see the stars." Sora explained his reasons to go out at night. "Can't you sleep either, can you?

"Same. To be honest, you make me curious, Sora." she argued lying down in the grass.

"Me? How so?" he questioned her in the same way.

"I mean, the way you behave, you speak, and especially, the way you fight." Byleth clarified him in the nice mood. "Nobody around here would not have done this."

"I-I have been like this, alright? There's no way of undoing it, is it?" Sora was a little blushed due to his teacher's comments.

"I see, I'm pretty sure that you and Caspar are very alike." Byleth assumed jokingly.

"Right? He and I train sometimes and we get along." He smiled between teeth with enthusiasm.

"Doesn't mean that you are excited for the mock battle, Sora?"

"Of course, Byleth, I can't wait to face Dimitri and Claude."

"I knew it. Anyway, let's go back to sleep." Byleth stood up asking him to take some rest for the rest of the night. "We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Yes, Byleth." Sora agreed standing up.

With that, Sora and Byleth headed to their respective bedrooms and fall asleep all night long to have their energies recovered for the next day.

**[END OF THE SONG]**

**/**

**Sunday 27/4 – Great Tree Moon.**

At the morning of the academy class break, Sora got up off the bed cheerfully to meet with his classmates at the monastery yard.

"Good morning, how are you, guys?" Sora greeted them in this state.

"Oh, good mornin' Sora" Caspar replied in the same way. "We're enjoying the day off that our teacher gave us all."

"Where's Bernadetta? Wasn't she with you guys?" Sora asked them about her whereabouts.

"Sorry, Sora, she doesn't like to leave her bedroom." Dorothea explained the reason for her absence, showing her disappointment.

"I see. So that's it, there must be a reason for her to be like this." Assumed Sora thoughtfully.

"Well… Now that we're here…" she expressed wrapping her arms around his wrist almost grazing her breasts over the boy's shoulder. "Why don't we spend the day together?"

He decided to spend the day hanging out with his classmates however they wanted to.

Meanwhile, Byleth was exploring the monastery and greeting any student she had encountered.

"Hey, teacher, you look beautiful today." said a red-haired guy with a casual smile.

"Hello, Sylvain, how are you?" Byleth greeted him back.

"Fine, teacher." said Sylvain cheerfully admiring her beauty and trying to tease the woman. "Well, there's Dorothea, Hilda, and Mercedes. Lady Rhea's quite the beauty too, just like you. And I must admit, I've even checked out Professor Manuela once or twice."

"I see you like women, don't you?" Byleth intuited by showing some suspect towards his behavior, remembering Sora's words, he seemed like a creepy stalker, but she had to keep the appearance as to not have her cover blown.

"Yes, and you know, professor Byleth, I think I'm going to like it at the Officer's Academy. There are beautiful girls as far as the eye can see…" Sylvain argued showing a lot of enthusiasm. "This place is full of pretty girls, like you! What do you say if you invite someone to eat at the cafeteria?"

"Invite somebody to eat?" Byleth lifted an eyebrow making this question.

"Yeah! As I love to invite some girls to eat with me, despite of being rejected sometimes, then we both would be glad if you invited some of your students."

"I wouldn't mind it at doing this, I'm pretty sure this will do good to some of my students." She was considering his offer.

"Try it, you will have a good time, I promise." Sylvain encouraged her to do such action.

**/**

Elsewhere, Sora was walking around the monastery's hallway trying to know the place, little that he knew was that somebody was walking without noticing until they hit and stumbled each other.

"Ouch!" muttered the person who turned out to be a white-haired girl showing a mild painful expression.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! Are you hurt?" said Sora in this state trying to pick some books that a dropped.

"Oh, no, it's ok, it was my fault." She responded standing up with the boy's help. "Anyway, have you gotten to visiting the library yet?"

"Well, yeah, but reading isn't my thing through." Sora answered laughing with teeth and scratching his head.

"It's absolutely loaded with valuable information. I wish I wasn't burdened with the necessity of sleep, so I could spend all my hours there." The white-haired girl commented casually.

"Do you like to read?" Sora asked her regarding to her initiative.

"I do, in a manner. But it's more that I want to learn as much as I possibly can." She stated her goal and motive to be part of the academy.

"Same, I want to learn the lifestyle that everyone here in the monastery has and regarding to my classmates." Sora understood her words, due to the same goal as the girl's.

"Wait a minute, you must be the professor Byleth's student, right?" the white-haired girl began to realize about his identity.

"Correct, I am part of the Black Eagles with her." Sora affirmed her status, surprising her in the process.

"What is your name?"

"I'm Sora. Sora Nomura, and you?"

"My name is Lysithea, Lysithea von Ordelia. Don't forget it, Sora."

"I'll take it into account."

"Well, I wanted to thank you for…" Lysithea looked away showing some blush in her face. "Saving Claude, you and she were great, I-I wish I would speak with you very often, but I guess you will be busy and we are in part of different houses."

"Nah, don't worry, I will figure a way out to become friends." Sora winked an eye showing security.

"_That guy… doesn't look like the others, he's got a unique personality…_" Lysithea thought about the keyblade wielder in this state astonishing herself, but she immediately shook her head to disperse those thoughts. "_No, no, no. What am I doing? He and I are rivals, we take part of different houses, I'm not supposed to get along with people who are not from a noble class, or another house! But Sora…! I can't reject that attraction to this young man!_"

Lysithea felt some of butterflies wander around her stomach thinking about Sora, well, liking him is one thing, but falling in love with him was another story, those were not same nor had double face on the same coin and they had just met.

Besides, she would have to battle him if it was a mock-battle, unless there was a way to join his classroom, even though she would be distracted by his sole presence.

Or be motivated to improve her skills and be useful to her partners.

**/**

Sora left the library looking wondered upon meeting Lysithea walking by making some whistling sound like he was singing the theme "Dearly Beloved'.

"Sora!" Byleth called him from afar in the hallway of the academy.

"Byleth! How are you?" he replied her back smiling.

"Fine, how about we eat together in cafeteria?" she invited him in the same tone.

"Really? Awesome!" Sora gladly accepted his teacher's proposition.

**/**

**CAFETERIA**

Sora, Byleth and the others went in to eat the meal of the day: Saghert with cream.

Besides the two, Edelgard, Caspar and Dorothea had joined them in the table among their other classmates speaking about random trivia.

Sora ate energetically what they had given to him, it was the first time in years that he had eaten something that juicy.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, you could choke yourself." Edelgard was smacking his back making sure that he didn't choke himself with the food.

"Sorry, I've never eaten something delicious." Sora justified his way of eating very fast.

"You're really in high spirits, Sora." praised Dorothea playfully. "We cannot sing and dance while we wait for the meal, but, do you guys like opera, professor, Sora?"

"Errr…. The truth is that I've never been to see an opera." he stated recognizing about never going to see such performance.

"Okay, when I performance, it would be an honor for you to come and see me, your presence and our classmates' will motivate me." Dorothea proposed him with playful tone.

"I'll take it into account." Sora wasn't very convinced about her invitation, but going to see her performance once in his life wouldn't hurt, right?

Sora looked blushed with the brown-haired girl's flirting glare, which entertained the other guys and especially Edelgard and Byleth.

"You've really become popular among the girls, Sora." Caspar expressed jokingly smacking his partner back in a funny way.

"Th-That's not true, Caspar!" he gabbled jokingly looking annoyed for his classmate's words, for his dismay.

"Well, I don't say you're, but it could be that you like some girls from here in the academy, you don't have to believe me but it's just a matter of time, dude." the light-blue haired boy defended himself from his classmate's annoyed glare.

"Caspar!" Byleth left him a warning, slightly blushed and annoyed as well, just like the future empress was as well. "Don't throw those ideas to Sora!"

"I'm not competing against Sylvain, I mean, if it was a sword fight, I'd give it a go, but to conquer every girl I see? I think I'll pass." Sora gave his reasons to not do such action like the red-haired guy. "I'm not a womanizer like him."

"I know man, you don't have offend yourself but, it looks like some girls think of you as an attractive guy." Caspar understood his pal's words.

Somewhat, Caspar was right, Sora wasn't like the other men in the academy, his personality and his manner had attracted the girls' attention.

The weirdest thing was that he wasn't like this when he was with Kairi, Xion, Naminé and Aqua, or even every women he met when traveling through various worlds.

Now he was experimenting things he didn't before, blush and attraction, though he didn't want to admit it of course, towards women, like the ones from the monastery, for example.

After finishing their meals, Sora and the others left the cafeteria to spend the rest of the day off, besides they all received a notice.

"Guys, in three days we are going to have a mock battle." Byleth stated them in a serious tone.

"Three days?! You can't be serious!" Caspar expressed taken aback by her words.

"Yes, Caspar, I would like to rest as much as you can because we have a lot to do tomorrow." Their teacher affirmed her compromise to lead them.

"We're gonna train a lot, aren't we?" Sora intuited his teacher's intentions.

"That's right. We will have a training battle. So we will be ready to face and defeat the two houses." She gave motivational words, which ignited her students and they seemed enthusiastic to lead the Black Eagles to the victory.

**END OF CHAPTER 7**

**NOTES:**

**I had my birthday few days ago and I played both Huryle and Fire Emblem Warriors, I never thought that I would get to enjoy these games I bought for my switch. This is why I was absent but here's the chapter.**

**Peace out.**


	9. Mock Battle

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: Yep, I'm considering a custom route, it's gonna be like Crinsom Flower but it will not only have the other routes vibes except for Silver Snow, which this will be disregarded, but it will also have Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 atmospheres as well. **

**CHAPTER 8 – MOCK BATTLE**

**/**

**Monday 28/4 – Great Tree Moon. – Black Eagles classroom.**

The class had begun with almost all students attending, the theme of the day was magic.

"Alright class, we are going to begin the lessons, today it will be all about magic." Byleth began speaking to his students.

Suddenly, a loud door open sound was heard, and everyone came to realize that it was Sora who had stepped inside panting visibly.

"Sora, you are late." The professor said upon seeing him, showing her strict side as a teacher she was.

"I'm sorry, guys… I fell asleep and I came here as fast as I could." He explained his lateness.

"Well, you should be responsible with your actions." Edelgard advised him to be smart enough to get up and go to the classroom early. "Good for you that the professor still hasn't check on our list."

"Sorry, it will not happen again, I promise." Sora apologized upon being berated by them.

"It's okay, take a sit." Byleth pointed at a desk which had a free chair, among Edelgard's.

He nodded and went to sit among the white-haired girl, who was staring at him with curiosity.

"Ok guys, I will pronounce every single name of you to confirm that you are all here." Byleth began to speak upon holding her list. "Sora Nomura."

"Here, Byleth." He replied confirming his attendance.

"Edelgard von Hresvelg."

"Present."

"Dorothea Arnault"

"I'm here."

"Caspar von Bergliez"

"Right here, Byleth!"

"Ferdinand von Aegir."

"Here."

"Bernadetta von Varley."

"I-I'm he-here, professor."

"Hubert von Vestra."

"Present."

"Petra Macneary."

"I am here."

"Linhardt von Hevring." Byleth frowned realizing about one thing. "Guys, have anyone of you seen him?"

"Damn it… I thought he came here with me." Caspar muttered visibly frustrated for his attitude. "He must be enjoying his laziness."

"Don't tell me that… he didn't come here again…" Edelgard groaned annoyed making a facepalm.

"Is he always like this?" Sora asked the question lifting an eyelash.

"He is… and he loves being a lazy guy." The future empress replied showing disappointment.

"Alright guys." said Byleth asking them to pay attention. "We better get focus on the lesson, shall we?"

And this is how the lesson began, Byleth wrote some battle techniques in the blackboard, like sort of magic-related spells.

"Some people have skills to cast any kind of magic, just like wielding any weapon to defend themselves from their adversaries. Some of them can cast thunder element, fire element, water element, or ice element as well." Byleth explained her lesson as easily as she could. "If any of you can cast any kind of a magic spell, please raise your hand."

"I do." said Sora showing his hand up.

"Well, Sora, could you show us your magic for instance?" she indicated the action to be taken. "But we better go outside, as we don't want this classroom to be destroyed and get in trouble."

"Well said, teacher." Edelgard coincided with her.

**/**

**FODLAN FIELD**

Byleth and the entire class went out of the monastery to study the subject without risking to destroy academy's structure and get in trouble.

"Ok, class, Sora will demonstrate us his capability of casting sort of magic." Byleth stated upon indicating his student to do as he was told.

"Leave it to me. Well, you see, I'm a keyblade wielder, and such, I not only can attack using my weapon, but also cast any kind of magic." Said Sora before getting his keyblade ready.

He raised his weapon upwards and he casted his favorite spell.

"Thunder!" Sora exclaimed casting the electric thunder across the field, making the whole place shake and take everyone aback.

"Holy crap! That's was dope!" Caspar was astonished for his tremendous movement.

"I never thought that you were some kind of mage or something." Ferdinand was astonished for his astuteness.

"I remember the way you struck those dark creatures last night, your weapon must have sort of magic stored inside." Edelgard was rather curious about Sora's power as well.

"Alright, Sora, it's been proved that you are able to cast the thunder element, you just have to use it wisely, only when an area is crowed with tons of enemies. Do you have a sort of magic that you can shoot with your keyblade?"

"Of course, let me show." said Sora walking towards a tree. "Okay, here it goes…. Blizzard!"

Sora effectively casted the ice spell and froze the said tree surprising everyone.

"No way… Sora did really freeze that tree." Dorothea was impressed for his performance.

"Sora, could you melt the tree?" Byleth asked him to take out the ice.

"Okay. Fire!" he casted the fire spell to effectively melt the tree and leave it intact without burning it down.

"Alright, that's enough, Sora. You proved yourself to be capable of casting sort of magic spells." Byleth praised him for his performance. "Anyone else?"

"Me, teacher." Dorothea raised a hand.

"Okay, Dorothea, come here." Their teacher indicated her to demonstrate her magic skills. "Sora go back to your classmates."

Everyone was expectant regarding Dorothea's skills as she stepped aside.

"Okay, Dorothea, do you have any magic you can show us?"

"I do, Byleth." The girl stated by channeling magic between her hands.

What Dorothea developed was a thunder magic, and she threw it towards the mountain, even though it disappeared afterwards.

"Wow! You can shoot the magic thunder?" expressed Sora amazed for her technique.

"Of course, I can show it to you guys something else." Dorothea was willing to demonstrate more of her magic.

Then, she casted a spell which resulted in fire and like thunder, it flew towards the mounted and disappeared as well.

"Okay, it seems that you are able to shoot both thunder and fire element. It looks like we have some commoners who are able to cast magic." Byleth stated satisfied by Sora's and Dorothea's actions. "Well, the class is finished, now we shall begin with the training combat."

She then set up the training naming each of his students that they would have to spar with each other.

"Sora, you will spar with Edelgard."

Okay, he never thought that he would get to train with the future empress and this astonished him.

Besides them, Ferdinand was paired with Caspar while Petra was paired with Dorothea, who was given an iron sword in order to become capable to wield a weapon.

It was how the training began, Sora and Edelgard clashed their respective weapons giving each other's intense and determined glares.

She landed a swing cut onto the boy's arm and made him fall to the ground, however, for her amusement, he got back up.

"It really was a good blow of yours, Edelgard." Sora expressed between his teeth, willing to improve his fighting skills. "Give me your best shot."

"I see you are more than determined, now, use your head and try to block or evade my ax blows." Edelgard dared him. "I wanna see how capable you are of stopping my attacks."

"Have it your way." Sora accepted her challenge.

This is how they decided to spar each other; the two had charged and clashed their weapons, between grunts, shouts and a lot of landing hits between them, Sora managed to evade an incoming horizontal ax blow by jumping backwards and immediately counterattacked by landing a diagonal swing across her face, without hurting her for real of course.

Edelgard was taken aback for his cleverness in dodging her attack, it looks like Sora had some reflexes to block anyone's attacks and it became a motivation for her to keep on sparring with him.

"Looks like you really are a tough girl." Sora was panting while praising her.

"Tell me about it, you're quite really a tough man too, I like you." Edelgard replied in the same way. "Anyway, let's continue our training in order to be ready and defeat the other houses, shall we?"

"Right."

**/**

**2 DAYS LATER… TRAINING GROUNDS – DAYTIME. Wednesday 30/4 Great tree Moon.**

Two days had passed since they all began their training for the upcoming mock battle, during that time, Sora had started to improve his reflexes to dodge and block Edelgard's, and even Byleth's attacks. As expected, Sora had few difficulties to keep up with his teacher fast reflexes and he barely counterattacked some of her movesets.

It wasn't until the last day of training when he started to read her patterns and have quick reflexes to avoid and make a counterattack.

At this moment, Sora had demonstrated his keyblade wielder qualities by knowing his enemies' attacks and counter, like the one to Edelgard's back ax blow.

And with that, the training was over.

"I see that you have improved your reflexes, Sora." she praised him while clashing their respective weapons.

"I told you I wouldn't give up." He replied showing his high spirits attitude.

"Then you better get ready to face the other houses." Byleth asked them to be prepared.

"It's finally time for the mock battle." Commented Edelgard realizing that the day of the battle had finally arrived. "This is my chance to measure your worth as an instructor. Do you think you can rise to the challenge?"

"Leave it to me, we'll handle this." Byleth looked sure of herself.

"So confident. This will be interesting." Edelgard was amazed for her demeanor. "Each of us has undergone strict training. We're prepared for anything that comes our way, that means there´s no need to hold back, Sora, Byleth, show us what you guys are capable of."

"We'll make sure of this." said the keyblade wielder more than determined to take that initiative.

"Hey there! Did we miss our invite to this strategy meeting? Oh, no worries-we'll just join in now." Claude greeted them coming along with Dimitri. "By the Sora, you three seem to have an excellent chemistry, don't ya?"

"It seems so." Sora replied feeling mildly blushed by his words.

"Simply tell me your weaknesses, and you're welcome to stay, Claude. But is there enough time to cover them all?" Edelgard teased the future archduke in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, so you can't win unless you know my weaknesses? Ah poor princess, you really should believe in yourself more." Claude was making fun of her, but she didn't change her demeanor.

"I spare no effort when pursuing victory. As a master of schemes, I should think you would understand." Edelgard replied back defending herself from the guy's mocking tone.

"Schemes? Me? Where did you get that idea from?! Anyway, I promise that I will play fair and square this time. As ever." Claude retorted taken aback for her brutal honesty and tried to swear that he wouldn't cheat, but the future king of faerghus didn't see it as such.

"Claude, hearing you say 'fair and square' can only be a bad omen." Dimitri made a comment thinking about the high possibility that he might be capable of planning on slowing them down.

"You Highness haven't known me for very long, but you already have figure me out, don't you?" Claude remarked his cleverness on reading his face.

"No need to poke in. I will fight with honor. That said I will fight to win." The blonde guy stated his will to fight to win the battle, but the others didn't stay behind.

"Same, we will do everything to beat you guys." Sora shared the same initiative.

"Yes, and the same is true for us. Right, Byleth?" Edelgard showed the same emotions.

"We don't pretend to lose, just like Sora said, we are going to do everything to win." Byleth was more than ready to face them.

"Alright, if that is how you feel, then I will not hold back."

"Neither will we." Said the keyblade wielder the same way.

"Aw, how precious." Manuela appeared along with Hanneman to say those words. "Looks like you guys and the students have become fast friends."

"While I am pleased that you are taking the initiative to acquaint yourselves with the students, I'm afraid it's about time for the faculty strategy meeting, Byleth." said the old man asking her to join them in that meeting.

"Okay. Sora, Edelgard, I will be back in a moment." she left the place telling his students that she wouldn't take too long.

"Ah, how time flies! In that case, I'll see you guys later." Claude said before leaving the place.

"Edelgard, Professor, Sora. Be careful out there." Dimitri asked them to watch their backs during the battle, for which they all nodded to.

**/**

**FODLAN FIELD**

Sora, Jeralt, Byleth, and the others appeared in the field making some warm up to be ready to face the other houses and try to prove their worth on Byleth.

The Black Eagles who decided to go to the battle were:

-Byleth

-Sora

-Edelgard

-Dorothea

-Ferdinand

The Blue Lions who also joined the battle were:

-Dimitri

-Ashe

-Dedue

-Mercedes

And the Golden Deer were:

-Claude

-Hilda

-Ignatz

-Lorenz.

Everybody was scattered around the field getting ready to face each other.

"The mock battle is finally here. Will lead us to victory?" Edelgard expressed his excitement upon finishing her warm up.

"We will win, just follow my instructions, ok?" Byleth affirmed their confidence. "Sora, I suggest you to fight anybody physically, otherwise, you can use your magic onto anyone who is capable of doing the same thing. Everyone, be careful with Dimitri and Claude, it's not advisable to underestimate, and especially, to face the two future rulers at once. Remember your training, no hesitation."

"Yes, professor!" everyone exclaimed getting their high spirits up.

"I'm sure you already understand, but the house that defeats the other two is declared the winner." Jeralt remarked the conditions of victory. "Incidentally, I'll be overseeing this mock battle. So listen well if you want to win."

Elsewhere, the rival houses also had conversation between each other.

"None of your shallow tactics are required, Claude. Ignatz and I will dismantle the opposition." Said Lorenz showing overconfidence in defeating the other houses.

"Me?! But I'm not ready!" Ignatz gabbled seeing himself scared of such action.

"Are you making light of our new professor and student? If you drop your guard, you're going to get hurt, men…" Claude warned them to not take this matter lightly and be careful, but Lorenz wouldn't listen.

"Ashe, can you move to the front lines? I want to lure the enemy this way." Dimitri commanded the white-haired boy to take the point and lure the enemies.

"Got it, Your Highness! Leave it to me!" he agreed to get into his position preparing his bow.

"Once you've finished preparing, make your move. Dedue, Mercedes. Keep our enemy occupied until then." Dimitri indicated them.

"I'm on it."

"Oh my! We'll try our best."

"What shall we do, Byleth?" Ferdinand asked her about the action to be taken.

"Alright, Sora and Edelgard will move to the front line, we will provide them cover if we see some archers around the field.

"Good idea." Edelgard nodded among the others. "Let's go Sora!"

**[INFORMATION: Defeat the house leaders along with their classmates and win the mock battle!]**

With that, she and Sora went towards the front line with Byleth and the others covering their backs up.

"Sora! How are you? Ready to engage?" the white-haired greeted him in a friendly way.

"So you're the guy who everyone is talking about…" seconded Lorenz in mocking tone.

"You've heard about me, haven't you?" Sora replied giving him a challenging glare.

"That's right. I won't need Claude's help to beat you, because I will be the one who tears you and your stupid class apart." Lorenz sentenced him having the same demeanor.

"Go ahead, I won't go easy on you." Sora stated getting more than ready to fight him.

Sora approached him and clashed his weapon against Lorenz's, who glared him in a mocking but intense way.

Edelgard charged towards Ashe and dodge rolled his arrows reading each and every movement and cut him down by a diagonal swing with her axe, leaving him out of combat.

"Ah-so strong!" Ashe muttered taken aback for her cleverness. "Have to do it better."

Byleth was clashing her sword with Dedue's, it really was an intense battle between them as neither of them were letting themselves be open to any attack. Dedue swung his sword vertically and tried to land a hit onto her but she dodged it by rolling beneath his legs and subsequently gave him a double sword attack on his back, defeating him in the process.

"Ngh. Apologizes, Your Highness. I can go no further." Dedue expressed admitting his defeat.

"You have done it fine, Dedue." Byleth praised him for his performance.

"Thank you, professor, I will leave with pride."

After blocking Lorenz's sword attacks, Sora resorted to wait for him to get close enough, while holding the keyblade's tip backwards.

"You're done!" Lorenz exclaimed while running towards him with purpose of defeating him but…

Little did he know is that Sora planning something, by the time the indigo-haired boy was about to land a hit with his sword, Sora guarded and made a surprise counterattack, then, he performed a massive combo attack with the Ars Arcanum ability, something that impressed his teacher and the others, following the multiple sword hits, Sora performed a back-flip slash and cut Lorenz down with another and final wide horizontal flip slash.

"I've lost?! Oh! Unthinkable!" Lorenz snarled after feeling overwhelmed by Sora's strength.

Everybody was surprised and open mouthed because of his fighting skills, they couldn't believe what had just happened.

"Well done, Teach! I may have to take this seriously after all!" Claude congratulated Byleth for doing these actions.

During that time, Dorothea dealt with Ignatz and defeated him using the thunder power, leaving the guy out of the fight.

"I've lost. The new professor is quite a commander." Ignatz expressed surprised by their teacher's skills.

With that, he left the field among the other guys who were defeated as well, including Ferdinand and Hilda, whose fight ended in a draw.

"I have to admit that you are a quite a fighter." She recognized his strength.

"You too, your axe gave me a hard blow." He replied laughing between his teeth.

Back the field there were 7 students remaining, the black eagles had one classmate less, but the other classes had more classmates out of combat as Sora and the others had proven themselves to be the most well-trained and capable students for these situation thanks to Byleth's guidance.

"We have three rivals remaining, guys." Byleth started to address his students. "Remember my advice, proceed with caution, Claude and Dimitri are formidable men so watch for their movements."

"Okay, who wants to deal with Dimitri?" Edelgard agreed to her professor's instructions, aside of asking them if anyone could have a battle with the future king of Faerghus.

"I'll do it." Sora declared his initiative to take on the guy.

"You sure?" Dorothea questioned him taken aback for his words.

"I know he will defeat him, Dorothea. I believe Sora has a huge potential within, given his past battle experience. Did you all see what he did to Lorenz?" Byleth stated believing in him and his strength.

"You're right, Sora must be something." Edelgard nodded to her teacher's powerful words and turned around to tell him motivational words as well. "Go, go and demonstrate Dimitri what are you made of."

"I will not disappoint you guys, just watch me." Sora nodded with determination walking towards the Blue Lions' leader.

"Okay, Edelgard, go face Mercedes, I'll take care of Claude and Dorothea, you will face Manuela."

"Understood, Byleth." Edelgard nodded to her teacher's instructions and went to face the blonde girl.

Sora eventually made it where the future king of faerghus was, he was waiting for him to have the said battle between them.

"Dimitri… It's time!" Sora called him in a challenging tone pointing his keyblade towards him. "We can finally settle the question of who's stronger!"

"Very well, Sora, I've waiting for this momentum. With you as my opponent, I won't hold anything back!" Dimitri replied in the same tone putting his lance out.

"I would not expect less!" Sora expressed his desire to start the fight.

The two started the battle with a huge clash between their respective weapons, and as Byleth had told him, Dimitri was a formidable man, which the latter had the same feeling regarding the keyblade wielder.

Dimitri landed a cut across Sora's torso, but to his surprise, he immediately got back up and used the Curaga spell to heal his injuries and get back to the game.

"I didn't know you could heal yourself." said Dimitri taken aback for his capability to get cured.

"There are lot of things you don't know about me. Now it's time to get serious." Sora had his determined demeanor, something that Dimitri liked.

"I see you more than ready to fight with honor." The future king of faerghus dare him to not hold back. "Then show me what you have!"

"You got it!"

It was at this second that their battle got intense, as they were clashing their blades between each other a lot of times, neither of them were willing to expose themselves to receive damage.

Sora blocked Dimitri's brutal charge and swayed him, leaving the boy open to any of the keyblade wielder's attacks.

Realizing his state, Sora didn't waste any time to land an excellent and massive sword, punches and kicks combo stunning Dimitri and performed the Zantetsuken, an ability which Sora did by the time he finished his combo, he held his keyblade-tip backwards and then he performed a single powerful slash through Dimitri's body, without fatally wounding of course.

"Nghhh...! I admit it, you are indeed a hardened swordsman, I have lost." Dimitri praised him for his fighting style, aside of admitting his defeat. "I suppose that does it for the Blue Lion House."

"You have done it great, Dimitri." Sora congratulated him for his combat performance.

"Don't mention it." He said standing on his feet.

Sora emerged victorious in his battle against the future king of Faerghus, Dimitri. Despite the intense struggle he had.

Meanwhile, Edelgard successfully pulled Mercedes out of combat and Dorothea struggled intensely but eventually defeated Manuela as well landing double swing onto the woman with her sword.

"I see… Your professor has taught you very well…" Manuela admitted her defeat.

"Thank you, Manuela… Byleth knows how to lead her students." Dorothea said with a smirk on her face.

Elsewhere, Byleth was face to face with Claude, who seemed way carefree and laid back unlike her.

"Coming up with brilliant schemes, I can handle. No problem." Commented the future archduke jokingly trying to sound convincingly brave. "But I'm not much for fighting. Please go easy on me, teacher!"

But Byleth didn't get that joke of his.

"Then stop being lazy and start training." said Byleth before cutting him down with a strong swing that made him fly away a few metters. "Hnmph."

Right, it's been proved that Claude did indeed let his guard down due to his cocky overconfidence and that's what made him lose.

"I must have let my guard down. I guess that's a loss for the Golden Deer House." Claude express some frustration due to his reckless behavior. "Although I have to admit that she's a really excellent commander."

Sora then approached Hanneman as he was the last rival standing.

"So, you made it past every rival student, eh? I see now I must focus, and then make my move, Mister Sora."

"I'll do the same, Hanneman."

Sora engaged with Hanneman defending himself from his magic spells with his keyblade and dodging every attack until he got closer and finally gave him a strong slash, defeating Hanneman in the process.

"My goodness. The leadership of someone with actual battle experience is… Well! I was good as useless."

"Come on, Hanneman, you're an excellent researcher."

"I guess you're right, Mister Sora, you are very fortunate to have such a wonderful teacher."

"All right, that's that!" Jeralt called them in a loud tone. "The winner of this mock battle is… The Black Eagle House!"

"YEAAAAAH!" Sora screamed in euphoria happy for their victory.

"Even though it was just a mock battle, we defeated both houses masterfully." said Edelgard satisfied for their performance. "Take pride in this victory, everyone!"

"Yes!"

It was at this moment that thanks to Sora's and Byleth's important roles, the classmates' motivation started to grow up.

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**WHAT AN INTENSE STRUGGLE I HAD TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER… BUT IT WAS WORTH IT AT LEAST TO BRING YOU THIS LONG AND ACTION-PACKED CHAPTER WHICH SORA SHOWCASED HIS POWERS, WHICH HELPED HIS TEAM TO WIN THIS BATTLE. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER AND THAT WOULD BE ALL FOR MY PART. SEE YOU NEXT EPISODE.**

**PEACE OUT.**


	10. Mystery Vibes

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: Yep, Sora will interact with other houses and staff members, oh and he will have a tea party with his teacher.**

**FabledLife: Sora did indeed hold back as to not severely wound them too much as he has Large Star Level Strength, Massively FTL Speed and especially the Large Star Level Durability like you say, so he had to be careful with that as to perform Ars Arcamiun on Lorenz, and Zantetsuken against Dimitri, but those techniques are the ordinary versions he used in his regular form. Either Dark or Light form, including the Double one holds the most powerful versions of these abilities, had Sora transformed into either dark, light, or double form against them, he would obviously have left them in critical condition, or even worse, killed them and been in serious trouble. **

**I know that Sora can use Ars Arcamiun only in second form and Zantetsuken being in his light/dark form but this is for the gameplay of KH3. As in this story, he can use them even in regular form to instan-kill weaker or under leveled enemies but not the stronger ones, all thanks to the mysterious crest he holds within his heart.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 9 – MYSTERIOUS VIBES.**

Everyone in the academy was talking about the mock battle and the way that the Black Eagles defeated the rival houses and won.

"I've never thought that this guy had amazing powers and battle mastery on par with the professor." A Golden Deer student expressed astonishment for the news.

"You don't say, I bet that the eagles have become fearsome." The other guy coincided with his words, slightly shocked for the loss.

"So, this Sora did indeed help the Black Eagles to win…" Leonie said after being informed of the news.

"Yeah! I saw how he defeated Dimitri!" Hilda was impressed for the brown-haired boy's performance against the future king of Faerghus. "It's like he had a long experience in these situations."

"I don't wonder that the Black Eagles had won for their own merits." Lysithea commented plainly, trying to hide her blush towards the keyblade wielder.

"You say it because you're attached to Sora?" Leone joked sassily, making the white-haired girl irritated.

"Wi-Will you shut up? You're making me nervous!" she retorted in that state, which entertained the brunette girl.

However, there was always had to be someone who was visibly annoyed with the outcome.

"This piece of crap defeated me!" Lorenz spat angrily for his humiliating defeat. "I'm gonna teach this nobody what happens when somebody messes with me!"

"Hey, chill out, men." Claude tried to calm him down. "Sora defeated you because he's stronger than us and you keep underestimating people. He might be some kind of idiot, impulsive, whatever you wanna call him, but he's not stupid."

"I don't need your advices, representative." Lorenz replied giving him a murder glare, but the future archduke did not care at all. "I'll see what I can do to make his life miserable to this piece of crap. And I'll defeat him!"

"He's mad, isn't he?" Leonie said watching him leave angrily.

"He's just resent, that's all." Claude assumed coolly with laughs.

Elsewhere, Sora was being accompanied by his classmates, who were praising him for his actions in the mock battle.

"You were great, Sora!" Caspar congratulated him hugging him by an arm.

"Thanks, you all were incredible as well." He replied smiling in the same manner.

"I can bet how mad is Lorenz right now." Ferdinand commented in a very funny tone.

"You're really an ace, Sora." Dorothea praised him in a flirting tone and immediately gave him a bear hug pressing his head against her breasts playfully.

"He-Hey! I can't breathe!" Sora gabbled begging her while panting trying to breathe.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't avoid seeing how cute you are." Dorothea put some excuse flirting with him, though it somewhat was true, Dorothea felt sort of attraction to the keyblade wielder.

"See? I know what I'm telling you, dude." Caspar emphasized him being right regarding their conversation they had in the cafeteria.

Sora just limited himself to let out a sigh among a big anime-style drop while they all were walking around the monastery.

**/**

Elsewhere, Dimitri was sitting down in one of the pillars outside the monastery, his face reflected loneliness and depression that no one in the academy had noticed.

Suddenly, his face changed his demeanor into annoyance showing twisted tendencies.

Very far away from the blonde boy, a mysterious figure was standing in one of alpine peaks of Fodlan staring at him with much wickedness showing a sinister smile…

"I have found a perfect candidate to make him my new vessel…" said the mysterious figure showing that creepy smile.

**/**

**RECEPTION HALL – DAYTIME**

Meanwhile, Byleth and her class met in the reception hall to congratulate each other for their victory.

"Excellent work today, Byleth, Sora." Edelgard congratulated them for their performance. "Though our victory should come as no surprise."

"It was easy, each and every one of you have enough capability of fighting." Byleth replied in the same manner.

"Of course it was. Further proof that you're well qualified to guide the Black Eagles." The future empress was satisfied by her guidance.

"That was impressing, Professor Byleth!" Petra praised her when immediately realized that she misinterpreted her sentence. "I mean… impressive. We gained a victory because of your great leadership."

"We certainly did. We all tried our best, of course, but we couldn't have won without your and Sora's help." Dorothea gave them congratulations for their actions. "You're are into big challenges, aren't you?

"Well, I have been like this for a very long time, Dorothea." Sora stated his motives to fight efficiently.

"I can see why." Byleth understood his words.

"I was curious what it would look like if you two did not hold back. And you did not disappoint!" Ferdinand was also happy to express his praising towards them.

"Hmph. I daresay we owe our victory to Lady Edelgard." Hubert thought about congratulating his acquirement over the others' actions.

"How so? For that battle, she was only a soldier following our professor's command. Sure, she was an incredibly powerful soldier." Linhardt said blatantly explaining that Edelgard was just following Byleth's orders just like everyone else.

"Don't worry about it too much, Linhardt. All that matters is that we won!" Caspar asked him to relax.

"I'm done with being on the battlefield, OK? I'd rather stay back than pursue victory out there." Bernadetta expressed nervousness not wanting to do with stepping in any battle.

"You are all ridiculous as always." Edelgard made a facepalm showing sort of disappointment towards her classmates. "We only managed to win because we worked together."

"Yeah, that's right!" Sora agreed with her.

But Edelgard and Sora received daggering glares from the classmates, making them a bit nervous at the process.

"Was it something I said?" the future empress sweated from nervousness she had at that moment, only to have weird feelings subtly coming out. "It is odd, me talking about togetherness? If so, that perception must change. In fact, I'm cancelling the festivities so we can discuss this topic further."

Everybody was about to be disappointed when…

"I'm kidding, of course. Come on, everyone! We've earn this celebration." Edelgard took back the latter she just said.

The Black Eagles celebrated their victory getting along with each other the way they all wanted.

Dorothea was looking at Sora with intentions of 'speaking' with him, even though Byleth was keeping an eye on her to prevent any trouble, even if she had her reasons to do so.

**/**

**MYSTERIOUS TOWER**

**[KINGDOM HEARTS II BGM: Magical Mystery]**

Elsewhere, very and very far away from the world of Fodlan, Riku and Kairi went to visit the wise mage Yen Sid's office to get to know the Sora's news.

And not only that, they were joined by Donald, Goofy and King Mickey.

"Do you have any news about Sora, Master Yen Sid?" the mouse asked his mentor regarding the subject.

"Yeah, but they are not very uplifting…" he replied in a not very satisfying tone. "It's true that I had found out his location but that world is out of our hands…"

"Do you know where is Sora at least?" Kairi wanted to know his whereabouts.

"He… He is in a medieval world called Fódlan, but it's a world that is very hard to enter in, but so leaving is… you know how complicated are the portals." Yen Sid answered her question, surprising everybody.

"Fódlan… I've never heard about this place…" Riku was taken aback curious upon hearing those words.

"Gowsh… If Sora is in a medieval world…" Goofy commented the possibilities from that world. "Then he must be living in a monastery."

"It's possible, but Sora can defend himself wherever he is, I can feel it." Kairi was optimistic about his wellbeing.

"Is there any chance to bring him back here?" Riku was hoping for a way to rescue his friend.

"There it is, Riku, but I am afraid that the possibilities of bringing him home are small and the portals are random and unpredictable as the world where Sora lives is very, very far away." Mickey warned him about the risk that the task involved.

"It doesn't matter Mickey, we'll figure a way back." Riku was willing to take the risk to bring Sora back no matter what.

"Think about it, anyway." he advised him to make a good decision if he wanted to risk himself.

"We should talk to the others about this to see if we can agree." Kairi coincided with the mouse suggesting the white-haired guy to meet with the others.

"Okay, if you excuse us." Riku nodded and he was to take his leave with her when the elder wise told them one more thing.

"Riku, guys, you must know that it's possible to meet with strongest enemies compared to Master Xehanort and his flunkies that wander around that world, so I suggest you take precautions if you will travel there." Yen Sid warned them about the risks involved with the trip.

"We'll take it into account, thank you Master Yen Sid." Mickey agreed with his mentor's warning, as this was to not take it lightly.

Sora's retrieval trip involved lots of dangerous tasks and enemies should they meet, what they were about to do to bring Sora home was highly risky, even more than facing the Organization XIII members.

**[END OF SONG]**

**/**

**AUDIENCE HALL**

Back in the monastery, Byleth met with Rhea and Seteth to have an important talking inside the hall.

"Your work with the students was remarkable. I can see Jeralt trained you well." Rhea praised her for her performance as an instructor. "I do hope you were able to use the occasion to bond with the students."

"I did, we get along with each other." Byleth stated looking satisfied with her students.

"I am so happy to hear it. Nothing would please me more than if you used this coming year to grow closer still." Rhea was content with her answer to which the professor nodded.

"Of course, the mock battle was mere practice. The real fight is the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, which will take place during the Wyvern Moon." Seteth gave her an important notice regarding the upcoming real fight between the houses. "You are expected to properly train your students so as not to humiliate the academy during the long-held tradition that is the coming battle."

"Of course, Seteth, I will train them as hard as possible." Byleth stated her initiative to make them stronger than everyone else.

"As of today, Byleth, I have called you here to tell you of your mission for the next month ahead." Rhea had something else important to tell her.

"What is it?"

"Your class is to dispose of some bandits causing trouble nearby." The archbishop assigned Byleth the next mission for her class.

"Bandits?" she asked them a question intrigued.

"Those affiliated with Garreg Mach Monastery have a moral obligation to help those in need, regardless of social standing." Seteth clarified the monastery principles that everyone who were affiliated had. "Students are not exception. Each month, before the newly birthed moon departs, each house of students must complete their assigned mission."

"Assigned missions… I see." Byleth understood his words, she had to lead her students to complete every mission she was assigned.

"You shall work to complete the task at hand alongside your students and report back to the archbishop before the deadline. Understood?"

"Understood." Byleth nodded with her head.

"I will soon provide you with the necessary detail for your first mission. If I told you now, I expect you would only forget, and I despise repeating myself." Seteth told her that he would explain more of her mission in a few days.

"I can sense something special within your heart… and Sora's too… I have high hopes for you two…" said Rhea before taking her leave with Seteth, leaving the professor alone.

"_Bandits, they say…_" Sothis voice resounded inside her head.

"Sothis?!" Byleth was surprised to hear her voice.

"_Do you recall when we first met? You shall not fall so shamelessly again, correct?_" she asked her to get used to it as to not be taken aback like this anymore, but as Byleth's words didn't come out... "_What's the matter? Are you quiet? You ought to know that I am always with you and Sora now. To hear my voice should not come as a shock._"

"I don't understand." Byleth denied with her head, not completely understanding her words.

"_Whatever shall I do with you?_" Sothis was rather disappointed by her answer. "_I am alive within the confines of your heart, Byleth. I am unknown to all but you and Sora. But through your eyes and I ears, I see and hear. Just listen to your heart, as you are doing now, and we speak like this. That is all I know._"

"I see, thanks, Sothis." Byleth knew what to do to speak with her and thanked her for that.

**/**

**ZANADO, THE RED CANYON – DAYTIME.**

Very far away from the monastery, Kostas found himself very angry about his humiliating defeat at Byleth's and Sora's hands.

"Fuck! What is this nonsense?! All I was told was to kill as many noble pipsqueaks as possible!" he spat in that angrier tone. "No one said anything about the fucking Knights of Seiros being on our trail!"

"You have proven yourself to be worthless. Distracted by something so trivial." said a mysterious person with a black-red mask dressed in the same color theme. "I had hope you would achieve your goal despite the setback. But now a child of the knights' captain, and a boy with a mysterious weapon are in play. How interesting."

"You asshole! This isn't what we agreed to!" Kostas reproached him for being swindled.

"Hiring a mercenary as a professor… what was that woman thinking…" the mysterious masked said thinking about Rhea. Who was this guy? What was he doing there?

"Are you listening to me?! How the fuck do we finish this?!" Kostas barked telling him to finish their business together.

"You will die." The man with red-black mask gave him a death sentence, making the bandit feel fear and scared.

"Wh—What?! Tell me you're not serious!" Kostas looked creeped out after knowing that his days were numbered.

"Underestimating the knights was an amateur mistake. One you will pay for. The road to eternal hell awaits you all." The masked man gave him death threats or even the worse thing. "Now I must locate your replacements…"

"Wait! Get back here! Fuuuuck!" Kostas tried to stop him but it was too late and was left with fear and anxiety.

**END OF CHAPTER 9**


	11. Suspicions

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 10 – SUSPICIONS. **

**/**

**ADVISORY ROOM – MORNING**

Byleth and Edelgard met with Seteth in the office to have the mission brief that the group would carry out.

"As you have been notified, Byleth, your mission is to subdue some bandits. Our students have been learning about combat through study, but this is a precious opportunity to provide them with practical experience." Seteth commented about their upcoming real mission leading her to understand that her students had to learn to survive by the real means of cautions.

"I'll make sure that they all have enough training to carry the mission out." Said Byleth with certainty and high self-esteem.

"The knights will support your mission and are prepared to offer their assistance if necessary. In short, this is no mock battle. You must be prepared for anything, Byleth. You will receive a message from the knights when it is time to depart. Until then, use your time wisely." He asked her to be well prepared to make sure of each and every student of hers' survival.

After giving her these advices, Seteth left the office.

"The last time we fought battles, you and Sora saved me. Maybe I can return the favor this time." Edelgard reminded her of their actions that the two did that night.

"We all did our best, Edelgard. "Byleth replied understanding her words. "As long as all of you are near me, we can take any foe down whoever we run into."

"The knights are well aware of our enemy's strength. We can count on them to keep the battlefield under control for us." Edelgard mentioned the strategy that they would all carry out in the mission. "It seems unlikely that we would lose. Still, let's do all we can to prepare."

"Yeah, our first mission is a serious matter we must take into account." Byleth nodded accepting her student's advice.

**/**

In the monastery courtyard, Sora was walking in the surroundings aimlessly until he was met by the indigo-haired boy.

"Oh, hey Felix." He greeted him in friendly tone.

"Hey, Sora. I heard rumors that defeated Dimitri and the others in the mock battle, isn't it that right?" he replied blandly, typical for him.

"Yes, I defeated him, he's a tough guy." Sora confirmed him proudly.

"That's what I thought, but I must warn you something, Sora." said Felix in a serious tone, something that had the keyblade wielder intrigued.

"Is there something going on?" Sora asked this question in this state.

"You see, the boar prince and I were inseparable for years, I know him better than almost anyone else." Felix began to tell him how Dimitri was really like. "So, let me give you some advice, boy, beneath all that princely polish, he's an animal, nothing more."

"An animal? What'd you mean?" Sora was intrigued by his acid tongue, he seemed so brutally honest.

"He's strong and skilled, sure, Sora." Felix kept explaining him about the future king's inner personality. "But don't place your trust in him as a human being. Take care that he doesn't chew you up and spit you out."

"Are you kidding me, right?" Sora was kind of skeptical upon hearing this statement.

"Sorry, but I kid you not." Felix affirmed his words telling him that he was not lying.

It was at this second that this inner conversation he had with Byleth in that night they recently met the three future rulers of Fodlan and the way they saw Dimitri came to his mind.

It seems the suspicion towards the future king of Faerghus was growing stronger and Sora was somewhat certain that Dimitri would eventually succumb to the darkness.

"Felix, is there any reason that Dimitri would ever behave like this?" Sora interrogated him suspiciously.

"You wouldn't like to know, Sora, this is something atrocious that happened long time ago, that's all I can say." Felix did not want to reveal their painful and disturbing past, something that the keyblade wielder understood.

"I see… it must have been terrible…" Sora intuited his words recognizing that Dimitri had a dark past.

"It's alright, you just take my advice." Said Felix a little relied. "Whatever you do, be careful with Dimitri, you can greet him but that's it."

"Thanks Felix, I owe you one." Sora expressed his gratitude.

"Don't mention it, by the way, I'd love to have a sword battle with you if you can." Felix expressed a subtly smile inviting him to have a spar with each other.

"I'll take it into account, see ya." Sora bided farewell leaving the place.

"_I hope Dimitri doesn't do a crazy thing…_" Felix seemed worried about his friend while watching Sora leave.

**/**

**CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS**

Byleth headed to her father's quarters to speak with him regarding her performance as a teacher in the monastery.

"You seem well. Are you adjusting to life at the monastery?" Jeralt asked her if she was getting used to it.

"Mmmm not quite, everything is new for me." Byleth recognized how overwhelming her life as a teacher was.

"Well, I didn't expect it to be easy on you. When we were mercenaries, I handled everything. Outside of battle, you didn't have much contact with people, did you?" her father reassured his words about her basic social skills.

"Not a lot, father." she said understanding his words. "To be honest, I begin to feel things I could not before, when I met Sora, I felt how my own way of thinking was coming out, not quickly to be exactly.

"I thought being thrown into a bunch of noble brats to teach would be a bit too much for you, daughter. It seems I was right to worry." Jeralt knew how she felt about having to teach Edelgard's undisciplined entire class. "By the way, Byleth, I heard about those bandits. Your assignment is to take them out, right?"

"Yes, father." she replied to his question. "They assigned me this mission."

"That's fairly routine for you by now, but don't forget that it's the first real taste of battle for those brats. It will be tougher for you to sleep for you at night if you let one of your little pupils die, so stay vigilant and lead them well."

Certainly, Jeralt was right, people were dying every day in many ways including inside of battlefield, Byleth had to be wise if she wanted to keep everyone including Sora alive.

"I wish I could offer you my support, but Lady Rhea won't allow it. For now, I'll try to figure out what she wants from you and Sora. I don't mind you two setting into your lives here, but don't let your guard down, my daughter. Ever."

"Understood, father… I will tell Sora about this, I promise that nobody else but us will know it." Byleth stated determined understanding her father words.

**/**

**MONASTERY ACADEMY**

Meanwhile, Sora was sitting down in the library reading some kind of book, even though reading wasn't his thing he read one or other page once in a while.

But he was actually thinking about what Felix had told him about Dimitri, he looked lost in his thoughts and was intrigued for the strange and unknown reason for the future king of Faerghus to become aggressive instead of being nice and gentleman that he supposedly he was.

And then, a lot of questions came to his mind. What if Dimitri's gentle smile and humble demeanor was not more than a façade and a cover up? What if everything Felix told him was true? How Dimitri's past was like? Was it that darker and painful as he said?

"_What's the matter, Sora? Lost in thoughts?"_ Sothis voices resounded inside his head, freaking him in the process.

"So-Sothis?!" Sora was surprised upon hearing her. "Ho-How did you find me?"

"_I dunno, I just did, you see, I can not only hear and speak with your cute teacher but you as well._" She said in a sassy and playful tone, making Sora shrug his shoulders.

"What? No way! How is it possible?" he articulated looking rather curious. "I mean, I have no idea how we are able to feel and hear you."

"_Me neither… but I would like to believe that is because your heart has sort of bond to Byleth's._" Sothis assumed the motive that could lead to believe that their hearts were bonded for this reason. "_Or that's what I think…_"

"Our hearts are connected… I think this is it…" Sora was thinking about the same. "Anyway, I have to speak with Byleth about it."

"_About how we're able to talk each other?_"

"No, it's about something else, about Dimitri."

"_Well, if you feel like wanting to talk to me, just use your heart, sweetie._"

OK, Sothis teased Sora with that sassy tone and made him blush a bit.

Sora stood up to leave the library and search for his teacher, once he set his feet outside, walked few steps in the hallway, until he noticed her presence.

"Byleth!" he called her out upon getting closer with each other

"Sora!" the navy-blue haired professor replied in the same tone. "I wanted to have a word with you so I looked for you everywhere."

"Me too, there's something is been intriguing me."

"Same, how about we have a tea party? So we can have this conversation privately?" Byleth invited him to go to a more private place without anyone else listening.

Sora felt strong heartbeats and his stomach tickled, but he had to talk about his concerns with his teacher without anybody finding out.

"Okay Byleth, you lead." The keyblade wielder accepted his teacher's invitation going far away from the people of the monastery.

**/**

After they set the table up, Sora and Byleth sat down face to face with their respective black tea with lemon.

The boy shrugged his shoulders to try to pull his blush away and clean his mind while having his beautiful professor in front of him.

"How is it? Is it good?" Byleth began after slurping a drink of her tea.

"It's very good! You really nailed it, Byleth!" Sora praised her after tasting his own tea cup.

"I'm glad you liked it, Sora." she commented with mild laughs, something that it seemed weird even for her as well. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something really important, but you have to promise me that you will keep the secret from everyone."

"Okay, I promise I won't tell anybody." Sora nodded to his teacher advice. "What is it about?"

"You see, I talked to my father at his quarters, he seemed me how quite cheerful I am, but the point is…" Byleth paused shorting their distance between each other while making sure nobody else were around. "My father thinks that Rhea is plotting something that we don't know."

"What? The Archbishop?" Sora asked the question in low voice lifting an eyebrow showing some concern.

"I'm not sure, but my father asked us to be careful with her, she could be scheming something to trick us all." Byleth affirmed giving a warning about Rhea.

"I see… But we must keep the appearances, right?" said Sora understanding her words.

"Yes, Sora. We have to keep our low profiles." Byleth coincided with her student's words as well, while giving another gulp of their respective cups. "By the way, there was something you wanted to tell me, right?"

"Well, I just met with Felix in the courtyard today and he praised me for my victory in the mock battle." Sora told her regarding the current events. "However… he warned me to be careful with Dimitri."

"Why? What did he tell you?" Byleth inquired him intrigued for his words.

"He said that Dimitri may look like a real knight prince for outside, but inside, he is…" Sora was telling her about the future king's inner personality but he paused at the last word, fearful for his teacher's reaction.

"Trust me, Sora, you can tell me, don't be afraid." Byleth encouraged him to get his trust up.

"Right… Dimitri is an animal for inside, Felix told me that a horrible tragedy happened long time ago and made Dimitri snap and insane just as like as he told me." Sora explained her the reason of Dimitri's true personality.

"Aren't you saying...?" Byleth was about to question him when suddenly, she remembered that night they observed Dimitri after saving him among the other leaders. "Wait a second… Sora… Do you remember the observation we have made to these guys? To the future rulers?"

"I do, I remember perfectly, Byleth." Sora recognized Dimitri's problem. "You said that there was a darkness lurking beneath his face, right?"

"It's true that I said that, but it's because I have a slight suspicion towards him too, aren't you thinking the same as me?" Byleth asked him being thoughtful.

"For what I'm aware about suspicions, I'd say yes." Sora stated agreeing with his teacher's opinion.

"Right, if this is what Felix told you it's true, then we have to be careful about Dimitri, and Rhea as well." His teacher gave him instructions he had to follow. "Anyway, changing the subject, I would like you to tell me something about you."

"About me?" Sora was taken aback for that statement, but he decided to tell her nevertheless. "It may sound crazy what I'm gonna say but, I'm a keyblade wielder, as you can see here."

Sora summoned his keyblade impressing and made his teacher curious.

"Wow, you're capable of making your sword appear." Byleth expressed surprise in this mood. "Would it be nice of you to let me see it?

"Sure." Sora gave her his weapon letting her have an eye on it.

"The girl looked at the keyblade with determinant, she was more than curious for the weapon's shape due to not having a typical sword appearance that everybody used, actually, it looked like a toy but what attracted Byleth's attention was the keychain, the same as that crest that Hanneman had figured out, thus, it wasn't an ordinary weapon.

"Where did you get this, Sora?" Byleth asked him his question with curiosity.

"Well… it's a long story, but everything began when the Heartless invaded the Destiny's islands and I tried to rescue Kairi and Riku, but they were swallowed by the darkness, when I was about to be the next one, my keyblade appeared from nowhere and it was how my journey began and I started to slay the uncountable dark forces I encountered." Sora tried to tell his story in an easy way as possible so his teacher could understand his motives.

"It must be admirable on what you have done and I can tell you fought to protect what you love." Byleth understood his reasons to have that initiative. "And who are Riku and Kairi? Friends of yours?"

"That's right, they are my best friends that I have met since my childhood." Sora said it cheerfully. "What about you? Have you had a friend or something?"

"Ah… I only was with my father, I have never interacted with anyone outside of battlefield, but since I met you and the others, I'm starting to experiment things I never felt before." Byleth showed for the first time a genuine smile, a true smile she never expressed until now.

She never had experienced sort of emotions until she met Sora and the others, upon having him as his student, Byleth came to realize about the sense of life and what interacted with people looked like.

"I see, I never spoke with anyone else besides Riku and Kairi at my home, until this heartless incident made me speak with people of…" Sora was about to reveal the top secret world traveling subject and had to hold his tongue, he almost had his cover blown again. "Around the world."

"You know, Sora? I think that we are very alike." Byleth stated making his student blush.

"You think so?" Sora expressed his dumb smile in that state looking quite nervous.

"Yes." Byleth replied changing his demeanor into a more serious manner. "Anyway, to go into a serious business, Seteth just assigned us a new mission, but I want you to know that this is a real battle and not a game."

"A mission?" Sora inquired her lifting an eyebrow, but showing serious manner upon his teacher statement.

"Yes, they assigned us that mission to take down some bandits, but to be honest, it isn't an easy task for me alone, and I don't want to let my students die." Byleth was showing anguish upon worrying about her students' lives.

"Byleth, don't worry, I'm not gonna let anyone lay a finger on them, we'll do everything to protect ourselves and ensure our survival." Sora said it with encouragement, inspiring her trust in the process.

"Sora…" Byleth grabbed his hand in a more-than-friendly way. "Thank you for encouragement, I wouldn't know what do without you."

"You're welcome, B-Byleth." He replied melting himself due to her smile. "If you need something, you can count on me if you need me."

"I appreciate it." She said sitting up and the boy did the same. "Let's go talk to the others."

"Yeah."

**[SUPPORT BEWTEEN SORA AND BYLETH HAS REACHED LEVEL C]**

**END OF CHAPTER 10**


	12. Gear Up

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**FabledLife: For some reason, Sora's keyblade teleported back to him as soon as Byleth finished checking on the weapon.**

**RedRat8: Sothis and Sora do have very funny dynamic so it's likely that she will tease Byleth as well.**

**CHAPTER 11 – GEAR UP.**

**/**

**TWILIGHT TOWN.**

At the top of the tower, Roxas was sitting down looking at the town's landscape, what he was thinking was about a dream he had last night, or, the world he saw through Sora's eyes.

"Hey, Roxas!" his friend Axel made an appearance greeting him along with Xion to sit down together.

"Hey, Axel, Xion." He replied back greeting them too. "How are you guys?"

"I'm good. What about you?" the red-haired guy answered while tasting the sea-salt ice cream with the others.

"Same, even though I can't stop thinking about what I just saw through Sora's eyes." Roxas remembered the things he saw in his 'dreams'.

"Do you remember something?" Xion asked him curious.

"Not much, I can tell that the world that Sora traveled to, was…" Roxas explained them about the place where Sora was currently residing. "Medieval, let's say?"

"Medieval? Sora must have travel back in time to the middle ages, hasn't he?" Axel was taken aback for his friend's words. "He ain't being another Xehanort, dude."

"Course not, Axel." Roxas agreed with him. "Sora didn't go back in time, all I just think is that he lost himself and ended up in that medieval world, and thus he must have found new friends."

"New friends? Then he must have managed himself to survive and handle any encounter, after all, he has done a lot for us. Got it memorized?"

"It's true, Sora is a man who risks it all." Xion nodded understanding the statement.

"I wish there was a way to return him a favor, like bringing him back." Roxas commented surprising them in the process.

"Same, but I'm afraid that it's not possible at this time, the power of waking is needed and this is a very risky technique, remember what happened to Sora when he decided to go rescue Kairi, right?" Axel emphasized the whole danger of using this power.

"I know, it's very hard to use that power without meeting the risks, what if we were in the same situation and had to use it as a last resort?" the blonde boy gave his opinion understanding the flaws.

"If it's going to be like this, we would have to be prepared for it." Xion agreed with the two.

"Well, it wouldn't be so bad if we disappeared and got lost together." Axel laughed subtly and the two followed up doing the same.

**/**

**FODLAN | GARREG MACH MONASTERY | ACADEMY OF OFFICIALS**

Back in monastery, Sora and the others were taking Byleth's classes, and they even took some kind of tutorials, and as part of the studies, all of the students were put in different teams to do some kind of labor works.

Sora was paired with Edelgard and Dorothea to do the group work, which consisted in weeding the yard of the monastery.

"It will be more fun having you at our side, Sora." Dorothea commented playfully.

"Sure… we will finish this quickly, right?" he said trying to focus on his job.

"Yeah, you are our best man that protects his maidens." the brown-haired girl expressed flirting, making Sora astonished by her words.

"Dorothea, cut it out and help us, will you?" Edelgard berated her showing some blush on her face and nervousness.

"Okaaaay…" she replied while faking up indignation in her same tone, while stealthy glaring him seductively for a second.

And they spent days doing the labor job while Sora was starting to interact more with his classmates, including the girls as well.

"It was tiring…" said Sora visibly worn down after finishing the job.

"But it was worth cleaning up the yard, right?" Dorothea seconded the same way.

"We three did a great team." Edelgard was satisfied by their performance.

"Good job, guys." Byleth congratulated them. "All of you made a great job."

"Thanks, Byleth." Sora thanked her.

"You guys can rest now, tomorrow we will have a practice before setting out on our mission." Byleth ended the class granting them the deserved rest.

**/**

While having the break from the class, Sora explored the monastery for a bit until he stepped into Annette and Mercedes.

"Oh, hey girls, how is it going?" he greeted them.

"We're good Sora!" Annette replied happily. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just enjoying the school break, what about you, girls?" Sora replied nicely.

"Well… we were talking about something regarding Dimitri." Mercedes said thinking about his off-spirited demeanor.

"About Dimitri?" Sora asked the question. "What's the matter with him?"

"You see… He seems a little bit off lately, every time we ask him if he's ok, he assumes that he is, while… faking a smile and looking somber." The blonde girl told him about Dimitri's behavior.

"It's like he's hiding something from us." Annette pointed up the future king's big problem.

"Really?" Sora looked concerned regarding his personal issues.

"Yep, looks like he is growing apart from us." Mercedes stated in the same mood.

"I think this is my fault that he's like this." Sora leaned his head down recognizing his mistake.

"No, you're not to blame, Sora. Dimitri was impressed by your fighting skills and said that he is going to train harder to fight you during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion." Annette asked him to not feel guilty for the future ruler's mild apparent depression.

"I see, I hope that he's okay when we all face each other." Sora shook his head expecting him to be fine by then.

"He will, Sora." Mercedes lead him to understand that Dimitri would surely be ready in time.

"Well, we have to go back to our classroom, see you later." Annette said goodbye leaving the yard with her best friend but not before saying one more thing. "Sora, some people are wanting to learn everything from you."

"Thanks, see ya." He replied her back as well. "_Have I really become famous or something?_"

"_Looks like it. Some girls are really wanting you to have a date with anyone." _Sothis joked with her usual sassy tone.

"_Oh, come on, Sothis! I didn't come here to conquest every girl I see, besides, sooner or later I will go back home with Riku and Kairi!" _Sora was blushing about her words, no, there's absolutely no way he could do what Sylvain does with the women. _"Besides, I must help Byleth to keep everybody alive while we carry out the mission, do you understand?"_

"_Oooh… So you are telling me that you are attached to your own professor, aren't you?"_ Sothis giggled insinuating him that he had a crush with the woman.

"_No way! She's my teacher, for Pete's sake!_" Sora tried to defend himself from the girl's teasing comments, how could he fall in love with somebody older than him?

"_Huh, I can tell that you don't know how falling in love with someone is like, don't you?_" Sothis gave a statement that drew his attention.

"_No… I have never fallen in love with someone, not even Kairi. Besides, I have never had that feeling towards anyone." _Sora confessed his feelings and recognized that as long as Kairi was safe and happy, he would be satisfied, given that there was no way back home for him for a very long while.

"_I see, looks like it's your first time to have those feelings, I don't mind if you don't believe me but, it seems that you are building a bond with Byleth and even Edelgard too. How lucky."_

Sothis made a statement regarding Sora's feelings towards his teacher and the future empress, he repeatedly said that he didn't have intentions to follow Sylvain's steps and have women around him.

"_I just want to be worth for my classmates, Sothis, okay?" _Sora retorted saying his reason to be there.

"_Whatever you say, but you should know that those feelings will come out when you don't expect it, Sora._"

Sora felt a chill down his spine due to the girl's words, he indeed knew that Kairi was the most important person to him but he didn't have such feeling towards her, but this time he was experiencing what growing attached to a woman looked like.

Anyway, he had to spend his school break for now because he would have a practice mission in the following day to warm up before taking down the bandits.

**/**

**SUNDAY 18/5 Harpstring Moon – Brionac Plateau**

The class went to have a practice bout with the knights of Seiros, set up to simulate real battlefield conditions.

They came up with the following plan:

Sora, Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea went ahead to take care of some of the knights they had in front to take them down.

Bernadetta, Caspar, Petra, Hubert and Ferdinand dealt with the rest of them with their respective techniques they had learned in class.

Sora and Dorothea casted the thunder spell to drive a few knights who were reaching them.

"Looks like we can join our forces for situations like this." Said Dorothea with a wink.

"Of course, we're magic users after all!" Sora was enthusiastic and motivated.

"You're incredible, pretty boy." Dorothea commented with flirting like always, even though he was already used to her demeanor.

Bernadetta was shooting a couple of arrows towards few soldiers, to be not that brave like her classmates, she had a good aiming and accuracy.

Byleth and the rest of the students defeated the remaining knights remembering their training and guidance until there were any more soldiers to face.

"You guys are great." One of the soldiers stood up to praise them.

"Seems that your teacher is an excellent commander." Another soldier had the same opinion regarding Byleth's capability.

"Thank you, now we can head back to the monastery." She replied satisfied with their actions. "Let's go guys."

**/**

**FRIDAY 5/30 – Harpstring Moon – Daytime | Entrance Hall.**

Sora and the others had gathered in the entrance hall speaking about their first upcoming battle as a team.

"I'm here." Byleth called them out joining them.

"Oh, perfect timing, Byleth." Edelgard gave her the news regarding the mission. "I just received word from the knights. They have located the bandits."

"Where?" the professor was curious about the bandits' hideout.

"They are in Zanado, the Red Canyon, looks like they have them cornered." Hubert gave them the location where they would head to.

"I can't wait to get started! I'll strike down those heinous thieves before they know what hit them!" Caspar was more than eager to beat anyone down whoever he encountered.

"Charge ahead if you must, Caspar. Just don't put the rest of us in danger." Ferdinand asked him to not to do anything reckless that could get them in trouble.

"No way, I'm going back, I won't be of any help anyway and I don't want to get hurt…" Bernadetta was scared of going to a real and dangerous mission like this.

"It's gonna be alright, Bernadetta, just stick with us and nothing bad will happen to you, ok?" Sora calmed her down trying to make her trust not only him but her classmates too.

"Yes, our opponents should be at a level where even we can defeat them easily. We'll have no trouble at all." Dorothea seconded with a maternal voice.

"Y-Yes, guys." Bernadetta stuttered feeling melted by those words as she was calming down, at least for a while.

"Eh, don't get ahead of yourselves. Unfounded optimism isn't a great strategy." Linhardt seemed sleepy as he yawned. "Let's just get over with."

"There is nothing to get over. We will work with each other to achieve our mission." Petra suggested to do the teamwork focusing on the mission.

"You guys seem to be excited to get out there." Byleth was amazed by their determination to carry out the mission.

"That's right, Byleth. Give us orders, and let's move out." Edelgard was more than ready to set out with her classmates.

"Alright, class, we will head out tomorrow so be ready." Byleth finished talking with them, not without reminding them to be prepared for their real battle experience.

**/**

**FRIDAY 5/30 Harpstring Moon – Nighttime | Byleth's Bedroom.**

While everyone else were asleep, Byleth was lying down on her bed face up thinking about the mission, she couldn't fall asleep because of her uneasiness on how she would handle the situation without putting their students' lives at risk.

"_Thinking about your precious students' lives, aren't you?_" Sothis said attracting her attention immediately.

"_Sothis? Yeah, sure…_" Byleth replied in a blank but slightly annoyed mood.

"_I bet you're getting into Sora, I guess?_" the girl said in a playful tone, blushing the professor.

"_What do you mean?_" Byleth inquired her feeling a chill down her spine.

"_I take that you're growing attached to him, right? I have seen how you two hang out together and speak each other, which leads me believe that you, Byleth, are in love with Sora._" Sothis was teasing her with suggestive and sassy voice.

"_That's not true! Sora is my student and it's my duty to be a good model for him and the others, besides, he might find a cute girl to spend his rest of his life with._" Byleth retorted showing some blush covering her cheeks, how could she be in love with someone younger than her?

"_It's that so? You should be worried about some nasty men who flirt with a woman like you and throw them away like a trash. And women would even do the same with a decent guy like Sora as well, think about it._" Sothis could tell that Byleth was having a crush on Sora, the professor may hid her feelings to other people anything that was going on her mind, but she couldn't deceive nor lie to a mysterious figure like Sothis.

"_You say that I have a crush on Sora? Is that what are you saying?_" Byleth was understanding the girl's sassy comments, she couldn't deny they clicked each other inside and outside of battlefield.

"_Looks like it, after all, you, Sora and Edelgard are a great team._" Sothis remarked how capable she was among the other two and relied with each other… Even though she subtly suspected that they would eventually become more than teammates.

"_Anyway, I need some sleep, my students and I have to be fully ready for our first real battle."_ Byleth closed her eyes as she felt sleepy and had to recover enough energy for the next day.

"_Alright, I'll let you have sweet dreams, be glad that I'm tired too… good night._" Sothis yawned sounding sleepy like Byleth and with that, they both fell asleep.

**END OF CHAPTER 11**


	13. Red Canyon Struggle

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**CHAPTER 12 – RED CANYON STRUGGLE**

**RedRat8: Yep, Sora is eventually gonna make friends through bonding with anyone, Sothis is waay sassy and direct with him and Byleth.**

**/**

**SATURDAY – 5/31 Harpstring Moon | Zanado, Red Canyon.**

The entire Black Eagle class headed for the canyon to take the bandits down, this was their first real battle but not for Sora due to having life-or-death experiences during his whole journey including his final battle against Xehanort, but still, he had to be careful to keep his classmates alive.

"Where are we?" Byleth after making it to the said mountainous zone.

"This is the Red Canyon… Looks like sort of ruins converged this place, anyways, let's finish quick." Edelgard replied putting her axe out readily. "The thieves must have been driven back, we must be careful or the cornered mice might bite us."

"Stay alert, guys, the thieves could be up to something." Byleth instructed them as they were willing to set the feet on the bridge they noticed at their eyes.

Elsewhere, Kostas was visibly mad after they learned that they were being chased by the knights and were almost out of choices to handle their precarious situation.

"Shit! The knights chased us all the fucking way here?!" Kostas was mad and stepped on the floor in frustration.

"Chief, let's get out of here! We cannot win against them!" one of the bandits was too scared to face the class, something that made the thief leader become even angrier.

"You dumbass! Where would we go at this point? You can't be a thief if you fear death so shut the fuck up!" Kostas cursed aggressively showing a big disgust by his coward attitude.

Back to the group, Byleth and her class were thinking about their actions to take, until Edelgard came up with a plan.

"Byleth, Sora, I hear there's a back road to the west. How about we split up in two groups and attack from both west and the front?" the future ruler of Adrestia suggested to carry out the plan. "If we proceed tactfully, we can attack our enemy from both flanks. I leave the rest of you."

"Sounds like a good plan!" Sora seemed enthusiast with the idea.

"Alright, Edelgard, this is how it goes, you, Sora, Dorothea, Caspar and I will go to the front, and the rest of you will head for the west and watch our backs while you're on it, regardless, we have to cross the bridge first." Byleth addressed the plan to annihilate the thieves and complete the mission.

"Right, professor!" all the students agreed with her instructions.

Sora's team proceeded to push forward encountering few thieves who were waiting for them.

Sora and Caspar charged towards them and struggled to take them down until Sora accidently stabbed one of the thieves through his stomach with his recently acquired steel sword, as soon as he saw blood coming out from the thief's wound and got frightened, he pushed the near-dying thief off the bridge, killing him.

Sora wasn't cutting down a heartless, a nobody, or neither an unversed, nope, it was the first time that he killed someone, a human being.

"It can't be… I… I killed a person." Sora was shocked for his own actions, and horrified of course.

"Sora, we had no choice! Those guys were trying to murder us!" Caspar made him see that they had to ensure their survival no matter what happened.

"But, they still are human beings!" he was trembling and looked disturbed for taking somebody's life.

"Listen to me, Sora!" Edelgard was upset and grabbed tightly him by his shirt. "People die every day in many ways, I understand you don't want to take any person's life but what will you do if an unscrupulous person tries to murder you and you own? Even if it is a human being?"

Sora was lost and shocked at her words, on one hand, he had met evil people throughout every world he traveled to but never resorted to kill anyone. But on the other hand, he had just run into a few thieves and accidently killed one of them. He was hesitant and scared to keep on his dream of becoming an excellent mercenary like Byleth, or even become the right-hand for Edelgard. His eyes looked away and locked in the floor in doubt.

His motivation was sunk deeper than he thought which could compromise the mission and everyone would surely meet the worse humiliation they had never imagined in their lives because of him.

"What? Giving up already? What a shame… I thought you were stronger than that..." Edelgard said coldly in disappointment. "There's only one rule you must always follow if you want to keep your partners alive… Kill or be killed… If you can't do that… then get the hell out of here…!"

They all were taken aback by Edelgard's cold and stern voice aimed towards the keyblade wielder, it was like every word of her had stabbed his heart and made his self-esteem go down, in other words, Edelgard was calling Sora a coward and he didn't have a choice was about to withdraw from the mission and give up on his dream when…

"_Sora, you don't believe that… I know you don't._" Sora came to remember Riku's words when he fell in a big despair sometimes. "_Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."_

And then he thought how far had gone to fight and save his friends, and the way he sacrificed himself to rescue Kairi, if he backed out at that moment, he wouldn't be able to see his friends' face because he knew that they would be disappointed if he did so.

"That's it, ge—" Edelgard was about to disown him when she felt a hand placed on hers and her eyes were locked on Sora's dead serious face.

"I'm not running away, Edelgard…" Sora looked serious while he let those words come out of his mouth. "It's true I have been an idiot as you said… but let me tell you this, I have busted my back to become a student like you and everyone else, the reason that I'm not willing to back out is because I made a promise to Byleth… To keep all you guys alive and ensure each other's survival in order to not let her and all you down. I don't enjoy taking somebody's life but you are right on something, either we kill, or we die, I prefer the first choice, but only when it comes to bad people we meet."

"Sora…" Edelgard was astonished and let her anger go down to express a subtly smile at him. "That's what I wanted to hear." With those words, she let go of him.

"Now, shall we face these thieves and get this over with?" Byleth smiled on his determined gaze.

"With pleasure." Sora got his spirits back and proceeded to continue the mission.

With his confidence back and understanding what he had to do, Sora and the entire class proceeded to cross the bridge only to encounter few more thieves to deal with.

He and his team went on to clear the area killing them to give the rest of their classmates a go so they could proceed to the west flank.

Dorothea casted the thunder spell and killed a thief in the process, that made her feel bad like Sora and hesitated.

"Making us to experience a real battle like this… I wonder if this is part of the church teachings." she looked concerned after getting her first kill, questioning herself if those actions had to do with the church doctrines.

"I dunno, I kind have a bad feeling about this too." Sora had the same feeling.

"You are suspecting of the Archbishop, aren't ya?" Dorothea could tell that he wasn't willing himself to trust Rhea.

"I'm not sure what she's up to, but Byleth, mister Jeralt and I feel that something is not right with the church teachings." Sora gave his opinion while taking down few more thieves together.

"Then, for what you suggest in regard to the archbishop, I can't bring myself to like this." Dorothea figured out Rhea's questionable actions.

"Me neither, but Rhea must not know it." Sora stated his disgust putting the last of the thieves down, aside of asking to keep the secret from her and the church staff.

"Got it." Dorothea shook her head understanding his friend's words as she herself hated rich and high class people who were arrogant and looked down on the others who were part of low class.

It wouldn't be unusual for her to hate the high commands who made people's lives a hell or something like that.

At the west side, Ferdinand, Hubert, Petra, Bernadetta and Linhardt successfully took the thieves down as they knew best, like Sora, they were taken aback and quite shocked after they killed them, but they had no choice if they wanted to survive and defend themselves.

"I never thought we would get to see dead people and some others bleed out to death." Linhardt seemed emotionally disturbed due to the metal smell.

"We didn't have a choice, Linhardt, okay? Look at Sora, he was about to give up because of the same action we all did and he made a comeback." Ferdinand tried to calm him down.

"I guess you're right." He replied letting out a sigh.

After they finished with all the thieves, they soon ran into somebody who didn't expect to meet again.

"Well, well! Sending bunch of brats instead of knights means that they have underestimated me! Big mistake!" Kostas made fun of the class.

"Hello, you thief bully! Do you recall our first meeting?" Sora greeted him in a challenging tone summoning his keyblade.

"You… you bastard." Kostas clenched his teeth holding his grudge against him, his teacher, and Edelgard. "So you have become acquitted with that mercenary bitch and that noble whore."

"Insulting my teacher and my friends… it's unacceptable." Sora express disgust for messing with people he relied on and prepared his keyblade.

"I'll fucking kill you and your stupid pesky people!" Kostas roared in rage charging towards him to clash their respective weapons.

**[INFORMATION: Defeat Kostas!] **

Sora and Kostas engaged a tremendous brawl between their respective weapons' blade, Kostas looked way gritty and rough as he was trying to cut Sora down but the keyblade wielder was able to dodge the diagonal swing stepping aside and managed to land double swing to stagger him.

It was at this precise moment that Sora transformed into his Limit form, his shirt turned black with yellow buttons, and his pants were recolored in red.

"What the…? Did he just… change his clothes or what?" Edelgard was surprised and shocked at Sora's form changed.

"No… it's more than that." Byleth was rather intrigued like everyone else. "Take a look."

Edelgard was feeling sort of potential coming out of the keyblade wielder, and so Byleth and everyone else felt the same.

"Ha! It doesn't matter if you change costumes, you won't make it out alive along these greedy bastards!" Kostas wasn't willing to go down that easily.

"Try it!" Sora replied in the same manner.

The two brutally clashed their weapons letting few sparks come out throughout the battlefield giving each other intense and gritty glare.

Then, Sora resorted to use the Sonic Blade ability, which consisted in performing a number of strong thrusting attacks, leaving Kostas without any time to react and dodge.

"Fucking shit…" Kostas muttered feeling too wounded clenching his teeth.

"What are you all waiting for? Let's take him down!" Sora gave them the signal to join the battle.

"You don't have to ask twice. Everyone, let's go!" Byleth commanded them to join in.

The entire class joined the battle and surrounded Kostas making sure he didn't have a way out of his impending death.

"So these assholes are watching your back, huh?" he laughed madly at everyone. "Oh, so you joined to, you noble bitch, you've never known hardships!"

"So if one knows hardships, they get to kill their enemy? Despicable." Edelgard was not happy to hear those words. "Let's get him, guys."

Each and every one of them landed their best hit on the thief leader, Caspar axed brutally him sinking his weapon into his clavicle, thus forming a crack in that place.

"YOU'RE ALL DEAD!" Kostas screamed at the top of his lungs charging towards the sky blue-haired guy, intending to kill him.

"Back off!" Sora stopped him by performing Strike Raid, which consisted in throwing his keyblade at his target five times.

He threw his keyblade at Kostas over and over until Sora landed the most powerful blow that left the thief stunned and exposed.

"Sora, leave it me, I'll kill him myself!" Byleth had made her choice to get this over with.

She walked few steps towards a dying Kostas, who was visibly angry and holding a huge grudge against her and the students.

"You motherfucker… to think you are pals with the knights and this scumbag kid…" Kostas cursed feeling cold due to the severe wounds he sustained. "I should never have listened to that idiot… What a mistake…"

"You won't mess with everyone anymore." Byleth ran her sword through his stomach killing him in the process.

With struggles and hard work, the entire class completed the mission and the professor cleaned her sword up making sure that there was no bloodstain on her blade.

"Thank you for leading us, Byleth." Edelgard thanked her for her assist. "There's no way we could have lost against a familiar foe, right?"

"Absolutely." Byleth nodded her head.

"Sora, I'm glad you understood what you will do from now on." The future empress congratulated him for overcoming his fear of killing people. "I'm sorry I acted like this before."

"Did you guys see Sora's power? He really broke that thief's bones easily!" Caspar was astonished for his classmate's way of dealing with the now dead Kostas.

"That's right, Sora. Where did you get that power?" Ferdinand asked the question as he was curious like everyone else.

"Well, it's hard to explain but I obtained the Limit form sometime during my journey as you can see. If I hadn't transformed into this, who knows how long it'd have taken for us to put that clown down, right?" Sora half clarified his actions using his humor sense.

"You never cease to amaze us, Sora." Dorothea expressed her surprise with a smile on her face.

"You did fine in joining our class, partner." Edelgard was glad to have him in her team, if it wasn't for him, maybe the rest of the class would not have been able to make it out alive.

"Thank you, guys." Sora was happy with their praises. "It means very much for me."

"I have to admit you have the courage to move forward." Byleth was also content for his courage to overcome the problems that he and the others had.

"Anyway, don't you guys sense something strange going on in this canyon?" Edelgard had a weird feeling in regard to that place.

"I'll go check it out." Byleth decided to investigate the ruins of the whole zone.

**END OF CHAPTER 12 **


	14. Dreams

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: True, Sora had panicked because he caused another human kill and he got over it in order to protect his class. As he doesn't enjoy taking someone's life, Sora won't kill everybody he sees, he will just knock them out instead, unless they run into a big bad man or something.**

**FabledLife: He did indeed lose his drive forms long time ago but the only drive form that Sora got back was the Limit form and this was thanks to his crest, thus, it joins the form change lineup as well.**

**CHAPTER 13 – DREAMS**

**/**

**ZANADO, RED CANYON**

After killing Kostas, Byleth felt an overwhelming curiosity about the ruins, so she proceed to go and investigate the place.

"Since when this place was called Red Canyon?" she was intrigued about the place.

"_Hmm… I wonder why is it that you recall this place is._" Sothis spoke though her mind, scaring her like the last time.

"_Sothis!_" Byleth expressed surprise upon hearing her voice.

"_You're such a short-livered fellow. Are you going to be astonished every time I speak to you?_" Sothis sounded annoyed by her reaction.

"I'm sorry." Byleth apologized for bringing that matter out.

"_Good grief, Byleth… Aren't you being too distracted even if the battle is over?_"

"I guess so."

"_Well, anyhow… I am quite fascinated by this place._"

"But, still, it feels familiar."

"_How very odd. I wonder if somehow, my memories have… Hmm._" Sothis became intrigued by the history behind the canyon. "_I must admit I am unsure. Beyond the name and this strange feeling of familiarity, I can't seem to remember anything about this place._"

"Nothing?" Byleth asked the question having the same feeling.

"_No… Nothing. And yet…a great depth of emotion is tied to that sense of familiarity. Like joy and sorrow. Pain and love. And all things in between…" _the girl replied regarding to these senses. "_If I was somehow here before, I wonder what took place…_"

"Byleth?" Sora appeared from behind calling her. "I was wondering where you were… Edelgard asked me to look for you. We should head back to the monastery."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, Sora." she thanked him for making her get back to her senses.

"_Looks like it's time to depart, but know that I will remember anything someday._" Sothis was more than determined to remember everything. "_Now then, I must give you my thanks. Those theves who came here are not more thanks to your and Sora's actions._"

"Sothis, why are you…?" Byleth was astonished by her words.

"_I am not sure myself, Byleth, yet I am grateful all the same._" Sothis couldn't figure out what to answer to that question. "_In any case, you must become accustomed to my voice! Just like Sora did. If you fall down with shock each time I speak, that just won't do_."

"I get it." Byleth shook her head.

"_Oh… You think you're standing strong? Of course you are! It was a jest._"

**/**

**ENTRANCE HALL – AFTERNOON.**

Byleth and the whole class headed back to the monastery after completing their first real mission.

"On our way out, Sora and I had the chance to observe the Red Canyon… Did you notice anything, Byleth?" Edelgard also had the curiosity about the ruins.

"I did, guys." Byleth nodded her head saying yes.

"Of course, we all expected as much, right girls?" Sora agreed with them.

"Yeah, Sora. Of course that place must have a lot of years of history." Edelgard stated placing his fingers under her chin thoughtfully. "The area was covered I ruins, each more curious than the last."

"What do you mean?" Byleth asked in the same feeling.

"They did not match the architectural style of any era or culture within the empire. Or across all of Fódlan, for that matter." Edelgard explained the aspect of the canyon. "That can only mean one thing…"

"And that is…" Sora was expecting the future empress's answer.

"The valley's civilization must have flourished and fallen in the distant past, long before the Empire was established." Edelgard mentioned the possible outcome of the place. "Who do you guys think live there?"

"Hmmm…" Sora was thinking while trying to understand her classmate.

"I think they were the subterranean beings…" Byleth gave them the answer.

"Heh… it's possible they weren't even human." Edelgard coincided with her words. "Hmm, perhaps their remnants still influence this world."

"Yeah, too right." Sora agreed with them between smiling teeth.

**/**

Edelgard was walking around the campus thinking about their first real battle and the way that Sora was able to overcome his hesitation, however, she began to feel something that it was apparently new to her, joy? Blush? A sort of… love?

"_What is wrong with me? Why am I having those feelings? Why is it that I feel like the ice that covers my heart… is melting? I want to suppress my emotions and be cold to everyone… But since Sora is been there for a while, it feels like I cannot suppress my feelings like that for too long." _Edelgard was lost in her thoughts as she shook her head trying to let go off her feelings, but she could not simply act like she was a cold and emotionless towards everybody for too long.

All she wanted is to rule the empire, but Sora's presence was somewhat watering her ambitions down.

And then she came up with an initiative, she felt like she wanted to try to become friends, not only with Sora, but Byleth and everyone else, she knew that it would not be an easy task for her but she somewhat felt that she needed a friend to talk with.

"Maybe I should try and talk to Sora." Edelgard had resorted to change her demeanor, even though she knew that it would be a slow pace to make it happen.

**/**

Meanwhile, Sora was hanging out with Ashe walking around the campus when they encountered a half-subdued Sylvain.

"Sylvain. How are you?" the spiky brown-haired greeted him.

"You seem so down, what happened?" the silver-haired looked rather curious.

"Well, I was trying to speak to a girl at the back in the monastery, and she looked angry at me." The red-haired explained them about what had happened between them.

"Why?" Ashe asked him the question lifting an eyelash.

"You see, she thinks I have been with another woman and I tried to deny such thing." Sylvain was scratching his head nervously. "And then she came out saying that I have been cheating her or something like that."

"Please tell me you didn't go out and tried to conquest every girl you see?" Sora facepalmed in disbelief after hearing his story.

"You could say so…" Sylvain pointed out the issues of his own, he recognized that he had a big problem with women. "I don't have an idea on how you became popular with the girls since you came here."

"That's… I didn't expect that." Sora was blushed while laughing. "Besides, I came here to learn and become a mercenary."

"Really? The girls seem to be staring at you non-stop, even Mercedes had told me how handsome you are for them, and Ingrid blushes herself when she hears your name." he emphasized his attitude casually, making the keyblade wielder's cheeks become more red. "I simply cannot understand why I can't receive the same treatment as you."

"Is that true, Sora? I never thought you make this far." Ashe was rather curious about his popularity.

"Listen, guys, I'm not from Fodlan, so they think of me as such an exotic figure, a foreign person." Sora tried to clarify the motive of that subject.

"You are a foreign boy?" Sylvain was taken aback at his words. "That makes sense. I was already figuring out that you were indeed a unique figure that anyone would want to be with. Anyway, the girl left me and the professor Byleth came out from nowhere to berate me for breaking that girl's heart and how jerk I was."

"Well, I might not be the best person to give you an advice but, I think you should not make the girls uncomfortable." Sora tried to advise him.

"Make them uncomfortable?" Sylvain lifted an eyelash trying to understand his advises.

"I mean, you have to be nice to them so they should like you, a friend of mines told me that somebody tried to ask her out suddenly and she nicely said no." Sora replied remembering a conversation he had with Aqua long time ago.

"So, I must impress them, right?"

"I think so, but you have to be yourself."

"Looks like I'm understanding your advice, Sora. I wish you were my professor." Sylvain gave them a friendly smile.

"Thanks, but I don't think I have the necessary skills to be one." He replied humbly admitting his flaws.

"Sora! How casual of me that I found you." Edelgard called him out from behind.

"Edelgard! How surprising that you searched for me." Sora said in the same mood.

"Looks like you're getting along with everyone, aren't you?" Edelgard casually commented giving him a smile.

"Sora is a nice guy, he even gave me an advice to understand the women." Sylvain stated in half-joke.

"Is it true, Sora?" Edelgard gave him a curious glare.

"Well, I tried as I could, alright?" Sora attempted to justify his actions. "I at least have decency to try to be nice with the girls as I can."

"So this is why Dorothea is pursing you." The future empress teased him in a suggestive tone, something that made him blush.

"E-Edelgard!" Sora whined to her showing his reddened cheeks.

"Come on, don't get me wrong. I'm just kidding." she chuckled asking him not to take it seriously. "But it seems that the girls 'like' you a lot. Seems that Caspar is very sharp."

"I hear you guys and the professor are the greatest team, am I right?" Sylvain made a comment praising their performance in battle.

"Ye-Yeah… Looks like it. We are the most well trained guys thanks to Byleth. Right, Sora?" Edelgard was blushed while trying to cover up her true reasons to be part of the trio.

"Yeah, you got that right." Sora replied in the same manner.

"If you say so… Anyway, I should head to the cafeteria to eat something. Even though I have to be careful as the professor warned me to not do reckless stuff with the girls." Sylvain felt his stomach growl.

"I'll make sure he behaves, see ya, Sora." Ashe retired from the place leaving him and the empress on their own.

"You know? I think I'm getting used to this school life." Sora was positive about his decision to start a new life in this medieval era.

"I'm glad to hear that, you seemed to be stuck but you managed to get around thanks to our help." Edelgard praised him for his performance as a student.

"Thank you, I'm catching up with the school work that Byleth put us to." He was satisfied to keep it up with his classmates.

"Nobody is born knowing anything, you know?" Edelgard recognized that everybody can learn on their own way.

Suddenly, the bell had resounded throughout the academy and it was time for them to head back to the classroom.

"You see, I begin to realize on how different you are from all the students." Edelgard was interested on his personality.

"Oh, yeah, Byleth told me the same thing." Sora remembered his teacher's words. "Looks like have been attracting a lot of attention as of now, didn't I?"

"Probably, aside of this… the way you wield that blade… got me curious." The girl was giving that curious glare to the keyblade wielder. "I must admit that you have the strength to face any problem you run into.

"That's because I have to aim someone who needs me, such defeating that fat leader of the thieves for example." Sora stated his reasons to do such actions, surprising the future empress.

"Sora, I think I understand why you helped Byleth to save my life." Edelgard understood his necessity to make these actions. "To be honest, owe you guys one."

"Don't mention it, Edelgard." He replied in his friendly mood, mildly blushing the girl.

"We-Well, it's been nice to talk with you." Edelgard began to let out a chuckle, it looked like she had started to see Sora and Byleth as a friend who she could count with.

**[SUPPORT BETWEEN SORA AND EDELGARD HAS ATTAINED LEVEL C]**

**/**

**CASTLE DISNEY – AUDIENCE HALL**

While Sora was dealing with his new medieval school life, Riku, Kairi and all the keyblade wielders gathered in the hall to address the matter that the Master Yen Sid had mentioned.

"The reason we are all have been gathered here is to talk about what Master Yen Sid had just told us few days ago." Mickey started to speak to his people. "It's about Sora's whereabouts.

"About Sora?" Ventus was surprised about his words. "Did you guys find him?"

"Yeah, but I'm afraid that it's not so good news." Riku proceeded to explain the situation. "Yen Sid did indeed state that Sora was found in a medieval world called Fodlan, however, that place is very far, far away from our reach, like a lot of lightyears from distance."

"Very far away…" Aqua looked puzzled and intrigued by the white-haired guy's words. "It's not definitely going to be easy to make it there without very suitable means of transport."

"Exactly, a very fast ship is needed to get though the barriers and get there in a blink of an eye." Axel pointed out a very strong suggestion to set out their mission to retrieve Sora. "Maybe Ienzo might know about this."

"You're right, it feels like we haven't lost him at all." Xion's face was written in hope, a great hope to see the boy who drove the darkness out of the world and disappeared from their eyes.

"It will be hard to access there but not impossible." Mickey was also optimistic about seeing Sora again, just like the others. "Even if he's so far, we all still feel Sora's heart through lots of kilometers of distance, thus, I know he's fine and well."

"Agreed, I haven't stopped feeling his presence as I thought since he used the power of waking to save me." Kairi was grateful to his friend showing security on her face.

"Same, Sora's still alive somewhere in that world, I can feel it." Roxas smile for the same reason as the others were. They still had hope in their eyes.

"So, what will we do? Should we build the fastest ship that will send us to Fodlan in no time?" Ventus knew that it was too much to ask, but he seemed impatient to get ready to go to the medieval world to meet with the keyblade wielder there again, thus, he received a glare from everyone that got him nervous. "I'm sorry. Is it too much to ask?"

"You gave us a great idea, Ventus. "Mickey liked the plan of his. "I think we could build a ship which can go beyond the borders and get to Fodlan as fast as possible. But it will take a lot of time to build it though, and then you should be aware that unlike Xehanort, you all will meet the strongest enemies there and have to be ready."

"But they haven't reappeared anymore Heartless since we defeated him." Axel said puzzled about the king's statement.

"Maybe they will never appear again here and the other worlds we have protected." Mickey was having a bad omen going on in his head. "But what if they appear in Fodlan?"

"It's a good question." Said Terra thinking. "I'm sure that Master Xehanort rose to the heaven among Master Eraqus."

"But… What if Young Xehanort isn't dead?" Aqua had a bad feeling about that guy, gaining an intriguing glare from everyone. "We all know that the darkness cannot disappear forever, besides, we all somewhat have seen how Sora defeated the Heartless and save those three young people who were about to be killed, right?"

"Yes, we did while we were sleeping." Xion coincided with her as she also couldn't forget that dream they had last night. "We did dream of the way that he saved those guys, that is, until I felt some of the darkness lurking beneath that blonde man's heart.

"Dimitri, that's that guy's name. it creeps me out to figure out that, he was like… he carried sort of dark pain, and a rather dark and disturbing past." Roxas was describing on what he had saw on the future ruler of Faerghus through Sora's eyes.

"Damn… So that means this man… I want to be wrong but I feel that he is going to go in the same path as me." Terra understood his words that foreshadowed Dimitri's big problem that he himself was going to struggle with.

"No way." Everyone, except for Xion and Roxas, was taken aback at his words.

"Besides, that girl, whose name is Edelgard, carried the same but way more atrocious pain that somewhat rendered her emotionless and harsh to people around her… But… since Sora decided to join her class, something about her is changing slowly, it's like her heart is becoming iceless, she's struggling to break free from the big pain she's carrying." Xion mentioned them to everyone, leaving them stunned. "I feel that Sora will make sure she doesn't go to the dark path and become her morality compass.

"If I'm not wrong, that Dimitri carries his dark and disturbing past, alright?" Riku was rather thoughtful about the future leaders.

"Yeah, sort of…" Xion replied nodding with her head.

"Then, I could bet that he might…" Terra knew very well what was to be happening to the blonde guy. "carry quite of darkness in his heart."

"If so, then Sora has to be careful with him." Ventus looked worried about him.

"Not only that." Roxas had something else to say. "That archbishop, Rhea… I somewhat felt darkness lurking in her heart, I don't say she's evil, but I think she got possessed, and despite that, she's doing what she can to not give in to the madness."

"It kind of reminds of me when I was possessed too." Aqua remarked the way she had given in to the darkness long time ago.

"Anyway, I'm sure that Sora will handle the situation on his own, I know him better." Riku showed optimism towards his best friend, he was certain that he was ok despite all the troubles he would encounter in the future. "He's been near death lots of times and he has still survived."

"Riku…" Kairi was baffled at his words, but she knew he was right. "You're right, nobody can stop Sora, he knows best on what he does."

"If we have more enemies to defeat… How about we start our training to be ready for the battle in Fodlan?" Axel was in his high spirits to do so, in which agreed to.

"Good idea, Axel." Mickey gave him an ok to his invite. "While Chip and Dale build the ship, we all are going to train hard like we did back when we faced Xehanort and get ready."

Nobody could tell how long will take to build the ship, but one thing was certain, Riku and the others were more than resorted to get stronger and bring Sora back home, even though they would have to face some potential and stronger enemies than before.

**END OF CHAPTER 13**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**I have received some anti-edelgard comments in the review section which I should address up, first at all, is true that she has flaws, but so Dimitri and Claude do as well, because let's be honest, most people is morally gray. If you guys dislike Edelgard, that's ok, if you dislike Dimitri, that's ok, and if you dislike Claude, that's ok. **

**But what I cannot bring myself to agree with, is that people come here and insult anyone including her and reduce that person to being an evil character, I love Edelgard despite not agreeing with her questionable actions but I support her ideologies regardless of what some people think, I will continue writing this Sora's epic adventure on my own way. My way!**

**I hope I didn't sound so harsh, anyway, see you in the next chapter.**


	15. Father's Issues

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: That's the point of the game, everyone is morally grey until you choose a house.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thank you for agreeing with me. Given on how Young Xehanort is capable of time traveling and all, it's highly possible for him to separate from his original timeline future self and become evil. As Rhea is very obsessed in reviving her mother, it also makes her prone to give in to the darkness too.**

**CHAPTER 14 – FATHER'S ISSUES**

**/**

**AUDIENCE CHAMBER – DAYTIME**

While Sora was hanging out in the monastery, Byleth met with Rhea to inform her about their mission.

"So, you have safety disposed of those bandits." Spoke the archbishop in a tranquil manner. "I pray for those souls find salvation."

"All that matters is that we all made it out alive, Lady Rhea." Byleth looked at her with a subtle suspicion as to not let her realize it.

"I wonder… Why did they target the students to begin with?" Rhea was intrigued about the bandits' actions against the young students. "We must futther investigate the true cause of all that took place."

"There must be a reason for that." Byleth didn't see it with good eyes their actions.

"Until we know more, I ask you to support the students and relieve them of any unnecessary worry." Rhea asked her to help her students to simmer down their concerns.

"Of course, Lady Rhea." Byleth agreed with her request.

"Good. I have high expectations for you." The archbishop was content with her answer. "By the way, how was your time in Zanado, Byleth? Legend has it, in ancient times, a goddess alighted upon this world in that very canyon. For a goddess from the heavens, Zanado could only have been a temporary haven"

"The goddess?"

**[Rhea's narration]**

_Long ago, the Saint Seiros received a revelation from the goddess. A gift, to help the lost. _

_The goddess is always watching over Fodlan from her kingdom above._

_However, in ancient times, the goddess graced this world with her presence and offered salvation to the people here._

_She is the mother of all life, the arbiter of every soul._

**[End of Narration]**

"I didn't know that" Byleth shook her head saying that she didn't have idea about that history behind the Fodlan's origins.

"I see…" Rhea replied in a saddened mood. "During your time here, I pray that you come here to devote yourself to the teachings of Seiros."

"Archbishop, I am sorry to interrupt." Seteth appeared to have an important word with her. "There is something I must ask you about in regard to those bandits…"

"Understood, we shall continue our discussion next time." Rhea accepted his request before leaving the place.

"See you later." Byleth wave her hands watching them go.

"_A goddess… I have no memory of her, but then, I have no memory at all!" _said Sothis in a puzzled tone.

"Not any memory?" Byleth asked her in the same manner.

"_That's right, this really bothers me. It seems like I know… and yet I don't." _Sothis replied visibly annoyed trying to remember to no avail. "Perhaps… Zanado was my home back when the goddess walked the land."

"Hold on, did you live there? I didn't know that." Byleth looked intrigued after hearing those words.

"_Maybe… What does that make now? A ghost?_"

"I don't know."

"_Hmm… No. That cannot be. I am most certainly alive._"

"There must be a reason on why Sora and I can hear you and not everyone else…" Byleth had an intrigued thing going on her mind.

"_Of course, we also have the mystery of why I'm here with you and Sora. Is it somehow connected? Perhaps some past regret is stopping me from moving on, now I'm forced to stay with you guys instead…_"

"I may assume that you wanted to live within me, right?"

"_No, that's not it! I can believe in such a meaningless existence! I... !..._"

**/**

**Sunday 6/1 Garland Moon | Audience Chamber – Daytime.**

After finishing her class, Byleth entered the hall to have a word from the archbishop.

"Byleth, I have a new mission for your students." Rhea said giving her the news.

"A new mission…" she intuited that the archbishop had new plans for her and her class.

"The truth is, we have received reports that Lord Lonato has rallied troops against our Holy Church." Seteth mentioned the motive of requiring her presence.

"Who is Lord Lonato?" Byleth asked her about that person's identity.

"Lord Lonato is a minor feudal lord of the Kingdom." Rhea explained her about that man's actions. "He has been showing hostility to the church for some time."

"A vanguard unit from the Knights of Seiros is already on its way to his stronghold, the Castle Gaspard." Seteth stated that the knights were taking care of him already. "Lord Lonato's army is nothing compared to the knights. It is quite possible the rebellion has already been suppressed."

"Even so, I would like for your class to travel with the knights' rear guard to death with the aftermath." Rhea asked her to head rely on the knights while traveling to the stronghold.

"I will, Lady Rhea." Byleth agreed to set up another real mission for her students.

"Nonetheless, the battlefields are unpredictable, so I ask you to be prepared for the worst." Seteth told her to be ready for any threat to come.

Suddenly, a blonde woman with an armor entered the scene.

"Excuse me, Lady Rhea, you called for me?" said the woman with a casual tone.

"Who is she?" Byleth asked a question about the blonde woman's name.

"Byleth, she is Catherine, the one who will lead the knights accompanying you." Rhea introduced her as the lead of the knights they will join them on their travel.

"Nice to meet you, teacher. We've heard a lot about you and that boy with those mysterious powers, if you need anything, just ask." said Catherine with a friendly tone and a smirk on her face.

"Nice to meet you too." Byleth replied introducing herself. "My name is Byleth."

"She is one of our bravest knights, and that is no small feat. Only an exceptional few have what it takes to join the Knights of Seiros." Rhea described Catherine as one of the strongest knights who feared nothing, not even a terrible enemy. "This mission should prove useful in demonstrating to the students how foolish it would be to ever turn on their blades on the church."

Byleth felt a chill down her spine after hearing those words, she didn't have idea on what was going through Rhea's mind, but she could sense a slight darkness lurking beneath her angelical face and vocals, nonetheless, she had to carry out the mission in order to not have her cover blown, she didn't know why, but she could tell that something was wrong with her.

**/**

After finishing the class, Byleth went on to make the announcement.

"Class, we have been given another mission, the knights of Seiros will join us in our travel to the Gaspard Castle." She gave them the news.

"What is our mission?" Edelgard asked.

"They asked us to take down Lord Lonato, the man who has been defying the church for a long time now." The professor explained her students about him.

"Defying the church?" Sora was intrigued about the situation.

"Yeah, and they asked us to track him down." Byleth affirmed his question, even though looking intrigued too, just like everyone else. "That is all class."

The students left the classroom to breathe the air from outside, Sora wandered around the academy until he encountered Ashe sitting down on a chair with a saddened and worried face.

"Ashe, what's wrong?" he was concerned after seeing him like that.

"Sora... This must be a mistake." The silver-haired guy seemed worried about something.

"About what?" the keyblade wielder was puzzled about his reaction.

"It's about Lonato. After I heard the news, I got scared." Ashe started to let out his feelings. "I don't know how I will live with that if they kill him."

"You seem to care about that man, why is that?" Sora questioned him.

"He's my father, Sora… He adopted me when I tried to rob his mansion, I knew he could have had me arrested me but he raised me as one of his children and taught me how to read."

"I never knew that, Ashe." Sora looked curious after hearing him tell his story of his life.

"It can't be that my own father could do this, inciting a rebellion against the church, why?" Ashe was consternated about his adoptive father's questionable actions. "Sora, I would like to join you guys, I want to persuade my father to stand down."

"Are you sure? It will not be easy to reach out for him." Sora explained the involved risks on the mission.

"It doesn't matter, I want to stop my father." Ashe was determined to meet with his adoptive father and put an end to his madness.

"Okay, I will tell Byleth about this and ask her to put you on our team." Sora understood his troubles and agreed to let him join his team's mission.

"Thanks Sora, I didn't have anyone else to speak with." Ashe thanked him for being emphatic. "I tried to tell Dimitri and the others, but they wouldn't say anything."

"You're welcome, it's hard for a son to have to face his own father." Sora understood how hard it was for anyone to have their family torn apart.

Ashe was more than determined to stop his father from doing bad things, even if he wasn't aware of his father's long time in plotting a rebellion against the church, but he knew that it would not be a happy reunion.

**/**

Sora and Ashe met with Byleth at the church to speak about Lonato, they knew how hard it was for them to carry that task.

"I didn't know he is your father, it must be hard for a son to have a parent like him." Byleth looked concern after hearing the news.

"Yeah, I never thought my adoptive father would come to plot such wicked rebellion." Ashe was worried about that man that was his family. "I request your permission to join you guys."

"Please, Byleth." Sora begged her let him go with them.

"Very well, I'm going to tell the professors that you will join us." Byleth decided to put Ashe under her command for the upcoming mission.

"Thank you, professor!" he smiled after hearing her response.

**[Ashe will assist your house during the task]**

**/**

**Monday 6/30 Garland Moon – Outside of Ashe's bedroom. | Daytime.**

A month had passed since Ashe joined the Black Eagles team to attempt to persuade Lonato to stop his doings, Manuela had accepted to lend his student only for this mission.

During that time, Ashe felt that there was something that the Blue Lions lacked, something that the Golden deer had more or less, but there was something that it attracted his attention, it was the dynamism between the Black Eagles students' personalities.

"You're going out with the professor and her students, right?" said Felix watching him get his stuff ready.

"Yes… I've been waiting for this day to come, my father Lonato has been doing wrong things and I have to stop him." Ashe said it with a determined face. "Even though I'm well aware that it's mostly impossible for persuade him to surrender, I feel like I have to give it at least one try."

"I see, hope everything goes fine with you guys." Felix said it with plain tone but subtly concerned about his integrity. "And Ashe, give Sora my regards, will you?"

"I will, Felix, see you later." Ashe bid his farewell and left his classroom.

After waving his hands at his classmate, Felix couldn't help to think about the upcoming trouble the Ashe and the others would have to get through from now on.

"_Sora, Ashe, everyone, be careful…_" Felix silently prayed for their safety.

However, unbeknown to everyone, Dimitri had be acting so strange in front of his mates, he said that he was fine and kept apologizing for even a little thing, but Felix wasn't stupid to not realize that something was wrong with him, furthermore, he read Dimitri crystal clear and came to the conclusion that something was mentally disrupting him enough to snap and do bad things.

Felix didn't have idea about the darkness lurking at Dimitri's heart, but he was certain that he wasn't the same Dimitri that Felix knew. He wanted to help him to get over his personal and dark past, but he didn't have a way to do so.

**END OF CHAPTER 14**

**A/N: Sorry to keep you waiting. I was sick with cough and I had my throat hurt for a few days. I was taking medicines to recover myself and be fine so I had to lay down on my bed for a while.**

**Besides, I was playing Fire Emblem Warriors for days and it took me a lot of work to unlock Lyn and Celica, I have to say that it's a tough but a great game to play with your favorite FE characters.**


	16. Ambush and Shocking Truths

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: You gonna figure this soon.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Effectively, this is the Lonato chapter and this is going to be as you say for what is about to happen there. And this is going to change Sora's perspective towards the church, and so Byleth's and Ashe's as well.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 15 – AMBUSH AND SHOCKING TRUTHS**

**Monday 6/30 Garland Moon – Magdred Way**

The Black Eagles and the guest from the Blue Lions House, Ashe Duran, headed to Magdred to confront and take down Lonato, Ashe's adoptive father.

Ashe was more than determined to persuade his father to surrender so he could he at least locked away in a dungeon instead.

That wasn't going to be an easy mission for everyone as they were heading for the stronghold.

"No matter how powerful our enemies may be, there is no need to worry so long as we're with Catherine, the mighty wielder of Thunderbolt." Said Hubert dryly looking at the woman.

"Thunderbolt?" Byleth made a question curiously.

"You don't know? Well, I shall explain you this, professor, my weapon is called Thunderbolt. It's one of the Heroes' Relics." Catherine stated what her sword was about. "A long, long time ago, the goddess bestowed divine weapons upon 10 heroes, which were passed down to their descendants. Anyways, there won't be any chance to play around with it Thunderbolt for today, our mission is to clean up the aftermath, not to fight, guys."

"Still… One must wonder why Lord Lonato would incite such a reckless rebellion." Hubert was intrigued by the man's mysterious motives.

"Do you all know about the Tragedy of Duscur?" Catherine inquired them, making them intrigued as well.

"Duscur? What happened there?" Sora wanted to know the events from that day.

"I don't know much about it." Byleth admitted not having full knowledge about it.

"I remember it well, it was a devastating incident, after all." Edelgard tried to explain to them about what happened back then. "Roughly four years ago, the king of Faerghus was murdered by the people of Duscur, was it not?

"To put it simply, yes. But there's something else, they had accomplices within the kingdom as well." Catherine proceeded to explain them further. "Lord Lonato's son, Christophe, was one of them, so he was headed over to the church for execution."

Those words made Ashe shiver run down his spine and Sora as well upon figuring out the real purpose of the church teachings.

"No… This can't be…!" said Ashe visibly frightened by those words.

"Ashe…" Sora tried to talk to him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"He-He's… He's my brother, Sora! I can't believe what I just heard…!" Ashe stated with tears running down his cheeks. "Why didn't anyone tell me this? Why?"

"The church executes criminals?" Byleth interrogated Catherine upon hearing their anguishes, particularly Ashe's.

"Speaking from the church's perspective, we simply passed judgment according to the teachings of the kingdom, which was in chaos." The female soldier clarified the judgment's principles. "Whatever the truth behind that incident may be, Lord Lonato has harbored resentment to the church since."

"Report! The enemy is approaching! We can't avoid them!" a church soldier warned them from the enemies' incoming presence. "Their numbers are far greatly than we predicted. They used the fog to slip past the knights' perimeter!"

"Damn… Byleth, change of plans. Everyone, prepare for battle!" Catherine commanded them to be ready for the upcoming battle.

With reluctance, Sora and everyone else headed to the fogged zone to face the hostiles lurking between some places, as the visibility was null, everyone had to stick together and watch each other's back.

"It's impossible to tell where the enemy might be… or how many of them there are." Byleth gave her students some advises to survive. "The enemy could be trying to surround us, but they shouldn't have enough soldiers to form a tight circle."

"How do we deal with them? The fog isn't letting us have a clear view." Sora made a question while watching their surroundings.

"I have only one tip for ya guys, take down anyone who breaks through the dog and let's push through!" Catherine replied with emotion on her face.

Just as they were walking through the fog, a metallic smell covered the place and reached everyone's noses.

"That smell… It's a blood smell, looks like the battle has already started within the fog…" Edelgard had noticed that everyone were fighting already before they arrived.

"They have? Then we gotta be careful with everybody." Sora summoned his keyblade while watching each other's backs.

Everyone proceeded with caution dealing with few militias coming out through the fog and shielded and ducked in the shrubs to avoid getting hit by the archers, while Ferdinand and the others went deal with more militias getting in their way.

"Ashe, could you shoot up those guys?" Byleth gave him instructions to clear them up. "Yes." The boy nodded yes complying with her orders.

Ashe put out his bow and along with Bernadetta, who reluctantly stood up and did the same thing.

"Come on, we can do this." He cheered and incited her to take them down together.

"Ye-Yes…" the girl affirmed with some stutter in her voice. The two shot their respective arrows to take down the archers and clear the area.

And then they found a dark mage lurking in one of the shrubs.

"I won't let you anywhere near Lord Lonato!" said the dark mage upon seeing Sora, and the girls.

"Try to stop us if you can!" Sora challenged him before casting a spell. "Freeze!"

Edelgard, Dorothea and Byleth also joined in and together they started to battle the dark mage while he was stunned, but not for long.

The dark mage casted some dark spells to try to repel the team but Sora guarded and protected them from the attack. "Dorothea, cast the thunder spell!"

"Got it! Take that!" Dorothea casted the thunder spell on the dark mage to injure him.

Byleth didn't waste any time to give the mage a brutal swing across his torax, ending his life in the process.

With that, the fog dissipated and they all had a crystal clear view around the place, and then they finally found man whom were looking for…

"Cassandra…" said the most wanted man, Lonato, who looked at Catherine with a deep grudge in his voice… "Thunderjail Cassandra! It was your wretched zealotry that killed my son!"

"My name is Catherine. I'm a knight who serves the church of Seiros." She clarified who she was and her occupation. Indirectly revealing her true colors.

"What the…?" Sora was shocked upon hearing this disturbing statement. "What in the world has he just said?" He looked not only at Lonato in disbelief, but at Catherine in the same manner.

"No… Lonato! Please stop it! We can have a talk without fighting!" Ashe tried to plead his adoptive father, but he seemed too stubborn and stern to back off.

"Stand down Ashe… I must kill these evil-doers by any means necessary!" Lonato was not willing to stop on his intend to carry out his rebellion.

"Lonato! Is that true that Catherine killed my brother?! Please, answer me!" Ashe demanded to know the truth.

"Yes! She and that she-fox did it! The church did indeed execute Christophe!" Lonato affirmed sternly, leading to understand, at least a bit his father's reasons to do so.

"No… it can't be…" Ashe felt his anger towards Catherine growing up and Sora felt the same, just not as much as him. "My brother… My brother Christophe was murdered!"

"Even if all that's true, dragging the townsfolk into a fight like this isn't right!" Sora tried to persuade him to surrender.

"If that's how you truly feel, then turn your weapon on me!" Lonato challenged the keyblade wielder to a battle, who was hesitating to step in the battle.

"Sora… Let me face my father… I'm very sad that everything has to end like this…" Ashe made a request while making one step to the front to get ready to face his father.

"Ashe…" Sora looked sad having to see the father and son about to kill each other.

"I'm sorry…" said Byleth placing a hand on his shoulder showing the same concern, there was no way back between the two.

There were nothing they all could do to persuade Lord Lonato to stop on his tracks and try to negotiate. Ashe put out his bow and got an arrow ready, an arrow would be enough to take his father's life with regrets but most importantly, the grudge against the church for taking his brother's life by Catherine's hands.

"Come on… You need to move on… Have a life with your friends… avenge me… avenge your brother…" Lonato incited his son to finish him off.

With all the pain within his heart, Ashe shot an arrow straight to his father's chest and killed him. He place a hand onto his face in sadness, this was a big tragedy for him due to his big loss of his own family.

"Lonato… I…" Ashe wept upon getting on his knees to mourn his father until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "So-Sora…"

"You didn't have a choice." He looked saddened as well, and so Byleth and the others were. "I'm so sorry for your loss…"

"How could this happen? How could this whole the church murder my family?" the white-haired boy said it crying and looking at the grass.

Edelgard couldn't help but to clench his fists with anger while stealthy seeing Catherine with a mix of disappointment and bothersome.

"I never thought I'd see Lonato meet his end this way. Good job everybody, let's gather our troops and go." Catherine told everyone that their mission was a success, but everyone remained silent while shaking their heads.

This is when Sora came to realize about the church's purpose, this wasn't about just berating nor lecturing people who disrespected their religion. It was a murder, it was a murder that the people in the church of Seiros's zealotry were willing to perpetuate without questions asked.

**/**

While they were heading home, the black eagles were having a conversation about that event in regards of Lonato and his men.

"Shit! It was all so pointless. I've never seen so many people utterly heartbroken and crying!" Caspar was very upset of seeing many people in this state.

"Putting many innocent people at risk… he was not a man worthy of nobility." Ferdinand agreed with him making a facepalm.

"What could have pushed Lord Lonato to this point?" Hubert was intrigued for his mysterious motives.

Meanwhile, Sora was speaking with the girls while trying to comfort Ashe, who had a sad and distraught semblance.

"Everyone was a bit shaken by the militia fighting alongside our enemies." said Edelgard slightly upset as well.

"If only there was a way to stop this massacre…" Sora looked frustrated about the manner. "Then we could maybe have tried to talk to Lonato…"

"This is the reality of battle, guys…" Byleth knew that there was no going back for everyone.

"Yes, it would be nice if everyone was able to face the reality, though." Edelgard replied showing a lot of concern.

"But still… I can't believe what that man has said about Ashe's brother… Why in the world would Catherine slaughter anyone who defies the church?" Dorothea looked anguished like everyone else.

"Christophe… Father…" Ashe was still mourning them with both hand on his face.

"Ashe… Ashe…" Sora placed his hands on his shoulders making him look at his eyes. "I really lament on what happened to your family… If I understood well, your brother's death made your father go to this far as to incite a rebellion, isn't that right?"

"I really hate this… I hate what this church is doing with people who opposes it." Ashe expressed his intense disdain. "They even dared to kill my family outright instead of just locking them away inside a cell!"

"We know that feel… We never thought about the way that the church judges people and kills them right away." Edelgard showed sympathy to the boy. "I don't blame you if you will distrust the church and its teachings. The people who supported Lonato fought for what they believed."

"You know? I too starting to distrust the church too, not the religion, but its system." Sora agreed with her words. "I just can't believe this… Ashe lost his family and if I'm right, the church kills anybody whom they think they did wrong without even making questions. I can't bring myself to hate them… But I strongly disagree with these doctrines they are trying to impose us."

"Sora… Are you saying that you will disregard the church's doctrines, aren't you?" Byleth looked taken aback at his words. "I knew this would come sooner and later… My father told me to be careful with Rhea, and it seems I have found a reason to."

"Come on… let's head back to the monastery." Sora helped Ashe stand up walk with them.

Sora was feeling so sorry for his friend due to the family loss. He was indeed upset about the church that judged and murdered people who disrespected not its religion, but its system itself, that's what happened to Christophe, and that drove Lonato to have an intense grief and avenge his son by confronting the church.

Because of that, Sora felt an intense disgust to that system, as much as Edelgard, Dorothea and Byleth did, but Ashe showed signs of strong hatred towards the church, especially Catherine due to her being his brother's murder, he couldn't blame him for having such feeling against his family's murderers, though.

Edelgard understood the boys due to her disdain towards the church because of accidently killing some innocent villagers who fought for Lonato, in other words, she was left with a bitter taste like everyone else.

**/**

**Tuesday 7/1 Blue Sea Moon – Officers Academy – Garreg Mach Monastery**

It's been a day since Sora and his classmates confronted Lonato, he has been debating himself whether to follow orders or leave. But he was also worried about Ashe and his wellbeing due to the big loss he suffered, and because of that, Ashe had shut himself in his bedroom since they came back to the monastery and refused to attend the school.

In his bedroom, Ashe was punched the wall few times, he seemed very sad and angry due to the big tragedy he had suffered due to the church's doings. He had been weeping while missing his family.

Everyone, including his Blue Lions classmates, tried to get him out of the bedroom, but he refused to open the door and snarled at them.

"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ashe screamed in a crying voice, wanting to shut himself in.

"Ashe, it's us, open the door, please!" said a voice that he figured out immediately.

"So… So-Sora?" said the white-haired boy while opening the door with a shaking hand.

Effectively, Sora was standing at the front among Edelgard, Byleth and Dorothea, and they looked consternated as soon as they noticed Ashe's bloodshot crying eyes.

"Ashe… What happened to you?" Dorothea looked concerned.

"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have yelled at you guys!" Ashe ran to hug Sora and the others, he needed comfort. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"It's ok." Byleth didn't berate him, instead, she was comforting him.

"I killed my father…" Ashe was feeling guilty for his adoptive father Lonato's death. "And we also killed innocent people… I shouldn't have come here at the first place… aren't you guys angry?"

"Of course we are, just as much as everyone else, Ashe." Edelgard replied with a subtly anger and sadness in her voice, showing inconformity with the events.

"I'm sorry, what we did is unforgivable…" Ashe was soothing down and weeping less.

"We know, Ashe, we know…" Sora was comforting him along with the others while the teacher lifted his face to get him to look at her eyes.

"We had to follow the orders… But listen up… You seem to hate the church, right? I too beginning to realize who those people are, especially Rhea… "Byleth confessed her concerns towards the church, showing sort of dislike as well. "To be honest, I feel that my father told me the truth. Aren't you guys thinking the same?"

"We all do, Byleth." Sora and the girls replied in unison.

"Professor, guys, thank you…" Ashe recovered himself emotionally, showing signs of wanting to go out. "I have one request for you, professor."

**END OF CHAPTER 15**

**A/N: As you can see, I have found out few differences between the Japanese and localized versions regarding the game's original plot and I decided to try to make it most faithful to its Japanese version because as you all know, Threehouse, Nintendo's official translator, butchered a lot of things up and especially the conversations, so if you go to reddit's fire emblem section, then you are gonna find out the whole difference between every character's personality.**

**Anyway, I hope you have liked the chapter, see you guys. Out.**


	17. Research

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroak: Hahaha, I took the Thunderbolt name from the Japanese version on purpose. Also, I'm considering to do the Ashen Wolves arc some time.**

**RedRat8: Yep, that would make Sora and everyone oppose Rhea even more.**

**CHAPTER 16 – Research.**

**/**

**Saturday – 7/5 Blue Sea Moon – Reception Hall**

Byleth, Sora and the students including Ashe, who had recently transferred to the Black Eagles, gathered inside the hall to have an important talk about their next mission during this month.

"Okay guys, our mission this month is to patrol and set up defenses to stop the assassination plot." Edelgard stated.

"An Assassination plot?" Sora asked.

"Indeed, Sora. These people is plotting a kind of assassination here in this place." The white-haired girl clarified on what the mission was about.

"I wonder if an assassination attempt is truly the goal of our enemy…" Hubert was wondering if this was truly that the enemy wanted.

"I'd not be so sure, guys, what if it is a distraction?" Byleth was so sharp to realize of their enemies' scheming.

"Yes, I think so too." Edelgard agreed with her opinion. "A barely concealed secret message, trying to distract us from whatever's really going on. Sloppy, to say at least. And while everyone is out searching for a phantom assassin, they'll be free to accomplish their true goal with ease."

"The monastery houses many valuable weapons. Perhaps that is their aim?" Ferdinand started to understand what was going on.

"I never knew that this place had the most valuable stuff in here." Sora's face was written in curiosity.

"You never knew? Well, I hear that this place do hold the weapons, and a treasure vault." Dorothea mentioned him about the monastery's most sacred stuff. "Seems like the sort of place a foe would like some alone time in."

"I never thought that somebody would be so crazy as to break in and steal." Ashe understood her point.

"Garreg Mach is immense, and not just above ground but below as well. Perhaps their aim lies beneath the monastery…" Linhardt illustrated his classmates.

"It seems to me that we should search the monastery for a clue as to what the enemy might be after." Hubert suggested them to investigate the whole place to find something that the enemy was looking for. "Of course, we must never underestimate the need for preparedness, in case a battle should ensue."

Out of nowhere, a tall woman with indigo hair appeared alongside a brown-skinned boy with black hair.

"Well, well, what do we have here, professor?" said the woman having a look at the students but particularly at Sora. "Having a secret reunion with your students?"

"Yeah, sort of." Byleth replied with blank tone.

"Oh, we haven't introduced. I am Shamir."

"Shamir is one of the knights of Seiros. And this young man is-"

"I'm Cyril, Lady Rhea's servant and Shamir apprentice." The boy introduced himself.

"Shamir's apprentice?" Sora asked him looking curious.

"Yes, she's teaching me about the bow and the sword and all kinds of stuff." Said Cyril showing enthusiastic on his occupation. "I want to protect Lady Rhea too… so I became Shamir's apprentice."

"Cyril adores Rhea. That aside, if you need anything, just ask." Shamir stated about that boy's loyalty to the archbishop.

"Well, you see, we have to search in the monastery because some enemies are after the most valuable thing that this place is hiding." Sora explained the situation to get the two to assist them.

"So you want to investigate the place…" Shamir express her will to help, while getting closer to the keyblade wielder aside of giving him a seductive and flirting look. "I have heard a lot of good things about you, tiger boy."

"Come on, it's not a big deal, I just help anyone who needs us." Sora tried to hide his blushing due to the woman's glare.

"I can see that, tiger boy." Shamir countered jokingly but in the same tone. "Your actions killed those bandits who were threatening the three future rulers, isn't that right?"

Caspar and Ferdinand were trying to contain their laughs watching him become awkward in front of her.

"You want to help us or not?" Byleth looked slightly jealous and stopped the woman in her tracks making a request. "It's important."

"Alright, alright…" Shamir accepted the request but not without giving Sora seductive glare before leaving the place. "It's nice to meet you, tiger boy."

The toughest challenges awaited the keyblade wielder and besides he had to deal and be careful with his popularity among the girls, even if it wasn't his fault he became the women's spotlight.

If Kairi knew that, she would indeed beat him for jealousy, not really though.

**/**

The whole class went on to make a research in the monastery about the hero's relics to prevent the enemy from taking it away.

Sora was joined by Dorothea while investigating the weapon's whereabouts around the academy.

"Don't you think it must be very mysterious thing they hide?" the girl asked thoughtfully.

"Or, I'd rather call it intriguing." assumed Sora showing the same concern. "What is it they are looking for? Do you think this monastery is hiding something that valuable, Dorothea?"

"Excellent question, Sora." Dorothea coincided with his opinion, they didn't know what kind of a sacred weapon was, but they knew that they had to protect this thing before it was too late. "I assume that it must be a valuable relic for the enemy to take it away without us realizing it."

"Hey Sora, Dorothea!" Ingrid approached them while saying hello. "What are you guys doing?"

"Well, we're investigating the monastery, somebody want to play dirty." Sora replied smiling at her.

"Why? What's going on?" Ingrid asked.

"Someone apparently wants to distract us so whoever it is would steal a relic weapon from a secret chamber here in the monastery." Dorothea replied her mentioning the problems they attempting to solve.

"I think I heard about it, but I have never thought how important it is." Ingrid argued looking intrigued towards the subject.

"I didn't think about it until now either, but something tells me that if that people takes it away, everything is gonna turn bad." Sora expressed his concerns thinking about the consequences.

"Then we have to figure this place out and prevent those people from stealing that weapon." Ingrid suggested them to look around and subsequently joined the two.

**/**

Elsewhere, Byleth and Edelgard were investigating the other half of the monastery asking everyone about the hero's relic, but most of them seemed to know nothing about it.

"Which one will be our enemy's main objective?" the girl inquired looking intrigued.

"That's a good question, I don't doubt that the monastery is keeping something secret." The teacher spoke expressing some suspicion.

"Me neither, the monastery is been built for a millennium from now." Edelgard agreed with her. "I don't rule out the possibility that the secret is being kept hidden as you say."

"Let's go ask some people if they can tell is something." Indicated Byleth to set up searching that relic.

**/**

Meanwhile, Sora and the girls headed to the cafeteria to speak with people who barely knew about anything until they ran into Byleth's father.

"Mister Jeralt!" Sora greeted him cheerfully.

"What's the matter, guys? You're running all over creation…" Byleth's father replied nicely.

"Well, we are investigating the monastery, we have suspicions that somebody is trying to steal… a relic." Dorothea explained the motives of their actions.

"Oh, I see, you guys don't believe Lady Rhea is the real target, do you?" Jeralt made a question regarding the archbishop's actions. "Even so, the knights have their orders, we can't abandon our duty to guard Rhea."

While it is true that Sora had to obey the Knights of Seiros's principles, just as Byleth had said earlier, it was better to do the job while faking fealty to the archbishop until reaching the point to stop this acting, even if it involved serious consequences that he should face when ready.

"The goddess's rite of Rebirth is an important event for the Church of Seiros." Jeralt mentioned something that got Sora's attention.

"Rite of Rebirth?" the boy lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

"They say it's the day when the goddess will return to walk among us." Jeralt explained to them. "Not too likely, if you ask me, Sora. Uh… Best if you keep that to yourselves, guys."

"Thank you sir, we will take into account." Ingrid thanked Jeralt besides promising to keep the secret from everyone.

Wandering around the monastery, Sora and the others couldn't help but wonder what this day of the rite was about.

"Do you guys think there is some kind of reason to threat the archbishop?" Sora faked the worrisome towards Rhea's wellbeing, with the brown-haired girl being the only one that knew the charade.

"I dunno, but something tells me there's a high possibility." Dorothea responded the same way.

"We can't let anybody lay a finger on the archbishop." Ingrid showed determination to defend Rhea.

"Let's see what happens…" Sora indicated as they were investigating the place.

**/**

Elsewhere, Byleth and Edelgard kept investigating few clues to find the secret chamber speaking with different people from the monastery until they reached an immense building's entrance, which was guarded by a priest.

"Excuse me, sir, we are looking for a secret chamber that holds a mysterious object inside there." Byleth argued their mission to the man.

"An object?" Well, do you guys know what room is this?" the priest started to let out few some important clues. "It is the church's treasure vault."

"A treasure?" Edelgard let out a curious glare.

"I say treasure, but I do not mean silver and gold and jewels. It mostly contains weapons, artifacts, and the like." He mentioned the women some stuff that were being hold inside that place.

"Do you have anything that is very valuable to cause too big stir if it is stolen by the chance, like some kind of a relic?" Byleth asked him about that said object.

"Anything that would cause too great a stir should it be stolen? No." the priest replier her saying that he didn't have anything too compromising inside that place. "The church knows better than to store anything too valuable in such accessible location."

"Alright, sir, if you excuse us… We're taking our leaving." Byleth looked frustrated along with her student and decided to go investigate somewhere else.

**/**

**CATHEDRAL**

Meanwhile, Sora, Dorothea and Ingrid had entered in the cathedral trying to gain some more information about the situation and stop the heist.

There they spotted Flayn, who looked surprised to meet with the keyblade wielder.

"So-Sora! Girls! I didn't know you guys would come here!" she muttered in that state looking at the boy, having her face mildly blushed.

"We neither, Flayn." Sora replied her expressing the same manner. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Sora… I am afraid I have acted a bit childishly toward my brother recently…" Flayn replied him nicely, only tilt her head confessing her bad behavior. "Given the circumstances, I requested that he provide me some candies…"

"Candies?" Ingrid looked curious as she lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it was silly of me, timing was improper, and I regret it very much now." Flayn admitted being reckless with a sad face.

"It's alright, we all make mistakes sometimes." Sora comforted her while caressing her head like she was his little sister. Something that it was melting her.

"Anyway, this place is off-limits, guys." Flayn got her mood up to notice them this thing. "It is only open to the public on the day of the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth."

"So that means that… everyone but us is barred from going there, right?" Sora asked her to confirm this.

"That's right, nobody else has permission to enter the area, you guys can go in but you have to be accompanied by your professor and have the said permission." Flayn told them the gold rule from all the monastery, only authorized people were allowed to enter that place.

"Okay, Flayn, we'll keep investigating, glad to see you." Ingrid said good bye to the girl and went off to keep researching among the others.

Soon, they noticed a female Knight of Seiros standing in front of the doors, when they talked to her, she revealed some more important information:

On the day of the rite, the monastery would be open to the public, including the secret place: the Holy Mausoleum, which is where the tomb of the divine Seiros lies and slumbers, eternally.

That's where Byleth and her students would go there.

"That's…pretty much all that's in there. Just an ancient coffin." The female knight explained the students what the mausoleum was about. "It's sealed with a powerful magic, to protect against would-be grave robbers."

"I see, thank you for telling us." Sora thanked her before leaving the place with the girls.

**/**

**AROUND THE MONASTERY CAMPUS**

After making the research for almost two hours, Sora and the others met with Byleth in the campus to review their mission.

"Did you guys figure something out?" their teacher asked them if they gathered some information.

"Yes, they told us that the mausoleum will be open during the rite, maybe we can get in there to discover the relic." Sora mentioned the words that the female knight said earlier, aside of suggesting to do these actions.

"We can't tell certainly, but we cannot rule out that the mausoleum might be the enemy's target." Edelgard came up with a suspicious theory against the thieves.

"Ok, guys, let's just wait for the ceremony to begin, and then, we will head to the mausoleum to see what those thieves want." Byleth gave her students the instructions to do in their upcoming mission.

"Won't that get all of you in trouble?" Ingrid gave them a suspicious glare upon hearing these words, given on how restricted that area was.

"Don't worry, whatever we do is not only my responsibility, but ours as well." Byleth justified her words due to the big responsibility she was carrying on.

"We can't let those crazy guys take that relic away." Sora agreed with her teacher's words showing his traits as an adventurer. "You never know, Ingrid, trust me."

"I see… Sometimes we have to take risk." The blonde girl nodded her head seeing it from the other perspective. "I can help you guys if you want."

"You will?" Ashe's eyes shined in enthusiasm, he didn't expect her to state her willingness to join the team, at least for a while of course.

"I am… I felt like wanting to join you guys because… I wanted to try something different." Ingrid explained her reasons to do so, while looking at Sora and Edelgard.

"Like what?" the keyblade wielder's face was written in curiosity.

"Well, I could say that I wanted to know how being a Black Eagle feels like." The blonde girl answered his question drawing a smile.

"Thank you, Ingrid." Sora expressed enthusiasm as well for her initiative.

And then they waited for at least three days until the doors to the mausoleum opened.

**END OF THE CHAPTER 16**

**/**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**So, Ashe has been transferred to the Black Eagles due to obvious reasons in regards to his father and brother, which means that he's no longer a Blue Lion member as he changed sides. **

**So Byleth's team goes like this as of now:**

**Professor: Byleth.**

**-Sora Nomura**

**-Edelgard von Hresvelg**

**-Dorothea Arnault**

**-Ferdinand von Aegir**

**-Hubert von Vestra**

**-Bernadetta von Varley**

**-Petra Macneary**

**-Ashe Duran (Newest member)**

**-Ingrid Brandl Galatea (Guest member only during the mausoleum battle)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed people, peace out.**


	18. Assault at the Rite of Rebirth

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: You got me excellent ideas so I will take them into account, given to Byleth's great commands and other factors, it's more likely that Ingrid and few others join the house. Of course Sora will learn few new things that will help him throughout his stay in Fódlan.**

**FabledLife: Yes, Sora will go all out when facing Death Knight, his keyblade powers will help him deal strong blows and prevent taking a lot of damage.**

**RedRat8: I do, I'm thinking of writing the arc, the plot will be as same as in-game but with obvious differences.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 17 – ASSAULT AT THE RITE OF REBIRTH**

**Tuesday – 7/8 Blue Sea Moon – Cathedral**

While the plot to assassinate the archbishop shook the monastery to its core, Sora, Byleth and Edelgard suspected that the enemy could have a different motivation that didn't have to do with murder but stealing a valuable relic from the mausoleum.

"The goddess's Rite of Rebirth is about to begin." Spoke Hubert asking if they all were ready to begin the operation. "Are we going to move forward with our plan?"

"I believe so. How confident are you in our theory, Byleth?" Edelgard shook her head willingly and asked her if she was confident with their plans.

"It could go either way, guys. We must be cautious with anyone who we mess with." said Byleth advising her students to watch their backs if they encountered somebody.

"Oh… I don't like those odds at all." Bernadetta looked nervous upon hearing that answer.

"We will get through this, Bernadetta, don't worry." Sora replied seeing optimistic, to the girl's surprise.

"All that matters is how our enemy makes their move, not how our teacher feels about the plan." Hubert stated leading them to understand that the enemy's movements were more important than their teacher's feelings about the plan.

"You guys seem too relaxed for my liking." Seteth approached them with a dry but harsh voice, like always. "The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is about to begin. While we are in the Goddess Tower, we are relying on you to secure the locations that are lacking in defense."

"May I let you in on something, professor Byleth?" Flayn said. "My brother can be a bit… callous. He told me that he was concerned about you, and hinted that perhaps you would be better off patrolling a coffin!"

This blushed Seteth as he helplessly watched her little sister say those embarrassing words in front of everyone. "I-I said that it was a joke, Flayn, alright? Just remain by my side and do not cause any more troubles, okay?"

"Sorry." Flayn apologized for her words she said earlier.

"As a professor, you would do well to remember that is your duty to command your students and guide them down the path of the righteousness." Seteth reminded her role as a professor and how to handle her students and provide them safety measures.

"Please excuse us, we shall see you again after the ceremony has concluded." Flayn said before taking her leave with her brother.

"Inside a coffin… how fascinating…" Hubert laughed a little evilly, something that Sora found quite creepy.

"Sora, Byleth, shall we hurry and hide ourselves and guard the stairs to the Holy Mausoleum?" Edelgard advised them to head to the mausoleum and defend it. "If the enemy moves as predicted, we should be able to cut off their escape path and capture every last of them."

"Sounds like a good idea." Sora accepted her classmate's suggestion and headed to the mausoleum along with the others.

**/**

**HOLY MAUSOLEUM**

Byleth and her whole class, including Ingrid as their guest student, headed to the mausoleum, and, as expected, they saw the enemies appear too.

"We were right. Unwanted guests have come to visit." Edelgard stated upon noticing their soon-to-defeat rivals gather around that place.

"You were not lying after all." Sora agreed with her getting ready his weapon.

"Getting over-confident, huh?" said Ferdinand in a slightly arrogant tone.

"Well, we had an anticipated suspicion towards these people coming here." Edelgard defended herself pointing these mages.

"I see, you seem to be more smart than I thought." He sighed in defeat getting his lance ready. "I guess we have no choice but to deal with these guys."

The enemies the whole class had to defeat were few white mages, western church soldiers yielding bows and another mage who was guarding a casket.

"Those Central Church bastards have spotted us… Buy me some time while I open the seal on the casket!" the mage commanded his minions to try to defeat them in order to buy him some time.

"Looks like they want to open the casket, are they after her remains or what?" said Sora in disbelief and suspecting of these guys.

"Looks like it, they are attempting to go after the tomb of Saint Seiros in the back. It would be the best to defeat them before they achieve their aim." Edelgard replied affirming their doing, suggesting to hurry up and fast.

"Got it."

"Okay, guys, we need to reach that mage who is standing beside that casket before he successfully opens the seal." Byleth indicated her students some kind of measures to take. "Petra, Caspar and Ferdinand take the left side. Hubert, Linhardt, Bernadetta and Ashe go to the right side, we'll go straight to that mage who is guarding the casket."

"Yes! Teacher!" all of them said in unison understanding her instructions and went to both sides to deal with the enemy soldiers while facing them at some advantageous positions.

Sora, Byleth, Edelgard, Dorothea and Ingrid went straight ahead heading towards some soldiers in the middle of the room, until they ran into an unusual and mysterious black knight mounting a horse of the same color with red eyes wielding a scythe.

"What the… what is this thing?" Sora looked shocked just like everyone else, the enemy seemed as powerful as Master Xehanort was. However, Sora somewhat sensed sort of recall on battling his biggest nemesis and the others, and anyhow assumed that the mysterious black knight was not so different from the others.

"Death Knight! Prove your strength and scatter these fools!" the mysterious mage tried to command the black knight, but to his surprise, the latter refused to comply his orders.

"I don't take commands. Or waste my time on weaklings." the Death knight replied with slow but menacing voice and then he looked at Sora. "Oh… I sense sort of a powerful aura within you…"

"That knight is a powerful enemy, Sora, I think we should avoid him." Edelgard suggested him to get away from him, otherwise, he could get killed, but he reminded her something.

"I have met way more powerful foes beforehand…" Sora said while giving the Death Knight a serious glare. "Somebody has to take care of this, guys."

"Does that mean…" Dorothea looked concerned for his wellbeing. "Sora! He's going to kill you!"

"Don't be reckless, this guy will tear you apart!" Edelgard was also worried as well and tried to tell him to back off."

"I'll be fine. Go get that mage and stop him!" Sora was determined to face the Death Knight, who was amused at his reaction.

"Please… don't die on me…" murmured Edelgard with a saddened face, but she felt the necessity to believe in him.

"He will survive, I can feel it." Byleth stated while looking at his student and believing on his strength and power. "Come on, let's stop this mage from opening the tomb."

The girls nodded their heads to deal with few soldiers and head where the mage was standing, leaving Sora to fight the strongest foe he ever met since Master Xehanort and the other versions of his nemesis.

**[INFORMATION: Defeat the Death Knight!]**

"I have to recognize your courage to face a rather deadly and powerful enemy as me…" said Death Knight preparing himself to slay him down, no, what he actually wanted was to test the keyblade wielder's strength.

"I have faced way stronger foes before you…" Sora replied him preparing his keyblade, but not before changing weapons with another one: the oblivion keyblade, to his rival's subtle surprise.

"I see… So you changed your weapons… nice strategy." said Death Knight in that state, before getting into his attack stance. "Get ready, kid. Because I will go all-out so you shouldn't hold back if you want to live."

"Same. Let's see who's the best!" Sora was eager to face his foe as well.

The two charged at each other and brutally clashed their respective weapons creating sparks everywhere.

Both of them shared an intense glare at each other while colliding their weapons a lot of times.

Death Knight tried to swing his scythe across Sora's face, but the keyblade wielder managed to dodge the deadly attack while having one of his cheeks mildly scratched by the weapon's edge.

This left Death Knight opened and Sora didn't waste his time to land a strong blow with his keyblade across his torso and make him fall off the horse, something that left the knight astonished.

"Nice… you avoided it… now we can have a serious fight." said Death Knight getting up and being ready to fight him.

"I'd like to see you try." replied Sora while transforming into dark form, turning his uniform all black.

With that, both started to clash with each other's weapons again, however, as Death Knight was about to lay a deadly blow on the boy, Sora casted a force field that was surrounded by some chains and prevented him from taking the blow that could have gravely wounded, or killed him.

With that, Sora's shield swayed Death Knight leaving him exposed to be attacked, immediately, Sora performed the Arcs Arcanum combo attack on his rival by going all-out and not holding back.

Right after, he transformed into Double Form, turning his uniform not only black but white too. However, he was not only wielding the Oblivion keyblade, but also holding another keyblade on the other hand, the Oathkeeper. Leaving everyone speechless.

"Holy shit! Did you guys see that?!" Caspar expressed surprise while watching his classmate in that state.

"Yeah! I never realized that Sora was capable of facing such dangerous enemies... none of us could have survived that deadly fight." Ferdinand was also stunned while giving his honest opinion about his classmate. "I have never thought he that was stronger until now…"

Being in that form at this moment, Sora and Death Knight engaged an all-out brawl clashing and hitting with each other without holding back, something that the dark knight was awaiting.

"Now this is a fight!" said the Death Knight while giving each other an intense challenging glare.

He didn't care about the mage's commands nor the others, all he had wished was to fight a worthy foe, and that was Sora, who willingly accepted his challenge.

Sora quickly used the Curaga spell to heal his wounds and clashed his keyblades with Death Knight's scythe. The black knight attempted to bring him down by cutting his head off, but Sora was quick enough to dodge it and brutally counterattack Death Knight with a massive and overwhelming number of slashes using the power from both of his keyblades and Sora shot him a number of light rays and quickly airstepped onto him to finally strike the Death Knight down with a last combo and ended it with a Zanketsuken, finally defeating his most dangerous rival.

After an intense brawl, Sora emerged victorious and survived his most dangerous encounter with a deadly enemy like Death Knight, who lost to him and was on his knees, but looked rather satisfied with his actions.

"How'd you like that?" said Sora after defeating him.

"I never realized of how stronger you are until now… you have impressed me… Nobody else would have had courage to challenge me. Hope you're ready when we meet again…" Death knight stated that he was more than willing to face him should they reunite for another battle.

With that, the Death Knight took his leave disappearing from his sight with a kind of transportation technique.

"Looking forward it." Sora murmured understanding his words, before turning back to normal and heading to where the women were fighting the mage.

**[Sora has learned the Dark Aura Signature]**

Meanwhile, Byleth and the girls were fighting few western church soldiers remaining and struck them down with ease thanks to the teacher's strategies. Now, all that it was left was the mage who guarded the casket.

"It's not use! The seal is broken. I'm gonna open this casket at this moment!" the mage appeared to successfully fulfill his ambition.

"Say what?!" Sora expressed frustration and annoyed due to seemingly failing to protect the mausoleum.

"Give it up you fools! I have opened the coffin. You can't-." said the Mage being carried away when he saw something weird lying inside the casket. "Huh? A sword?"

The mage found an unusual but seemingly powerful sword, he was about to have it as his own until…

"Drop it!" Byleth shouted as she charged towards the mage and gave him a strong swing, making him drop the sword and let it fall to the ground.

"Shit…!" the mage muttered in shock and pain after seeing the sword slip away from his hands and reach the woman's.

Byleth catched the sword leaving the mage frustrated, and in rage, he tried to attack Edelgard with a fire ball, but Byleth was able to tear it apart with ease protecting her.

"What the…?" said the mage surprised about Byleth's power.

"What is this weapon?" Sora felt the same way as everyone else.

"I don't know… but she seemed stronger than we thought." Ingrid replied having the same reaction.

The mage did everything to attack Byleth using his magic skills, but she countered him with ease and make him shake in terror.

"You wanted to steal this relic, didn't you?" Byleth said preparing herself to give him the final blow. Showing herself to be intimidating.

"Pl-Please! I can explain!" the mage begged for his life trying to get her to stop her action, but she didn't have time to deal with foolishness.

"Save your excuses for later." Byleth stated before giving him the said final blow breaking through his energy field and finally, killing him with a slash across his torso.

"That sword… Why is it-" Edelgard expressed shock after seeing Byleth kill the mage.

"That's the sword that was in the casket. Seems to be shimmering, almost as though…" Hubert had the same feeling after seeing what the mysterious sword did.

"Anyway, now you have a new weapon to defend yourself with, right Byleth?" Sora smiled between his teeth at her teacher.

"Ye-Yes… We did protect the weapon that the enemy wanted to steal." She replied feeling a little blushed at his words.

"Sora, you never cease to amaze us, do you?" said Edelgard praising him about his actions against the Death Knight. "I saw the way you… how do I say it…? Kind of changed forms and summoned not only one keyblade, but two as well. I have to recognize that you were able to fight that guy without dying."

"I never knew you were capable of doing such things… looks like you have some skills that help you to survive harsh encounters like this." Ingrid gave her opinion about Sora's strength.

Edelgard had her cheeks turn slightly red upon saying these words and showed her shy side while looking away, but what it surprised her was his fighting will against the most powerful foes, no one else would have had the courage like Sora did.

"When I told you guys I have faced way powerful enemies, I wasn't lying." Sora clarified her that he was telling the true when he did say that.

"I see, but I would like to ask you to be careful, Sora." Byleth replied asking him not to be reckless with whoever he runs into.

"I will, Byleth." He understood her words.

Deep inside, Byleth was rather curious about Sora's powers and the way he defeated Death Knight without falling in battle. After all, she did fine in having him as her student and take part of her whole class group.

After successfully defending the mausoleum, Catherine and her men came in and took the rest of the western church soldiers to get them judged by Rhea and the others.

**END OF CHAPTER 17 **

**/**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**Sorry to keep you guys waiting, I have been doing a lot of things lately like hanging out with my family and dealing with lockdown status.**

**Anyway, Death Knight in this fic was not a superboss like in-game, but still a tough-but-not buffed man that Sora has ever faced and struggled with. **

**Well, the next arc will be the Cindered Shadows, I have to tell you that I'm really eager to write this, really eager. **

**Anyway, see you guys next time. **


	19. Mystery in the Depths

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**This will be an adaptation of Cindered Shadows DLC story, the plot itself remains the same, however, Dimitri, Claude and Hilda will be absent so the whole Black Eagles members will fill the role in the story instead.**

**FabledLife: Sora is indeed immune to any deadly attack and fall damage, also, that little scratch heals itself quickly.**

**CHAPTER 18 – Mystery in the depths.**

**Somewhere in the Monastery | Nighttime. – Hallway.**

Sora and Byleth had already attained the habit to be awake overnight only when they didn't have any class next day.

"Do you love seeing the stars, don't you?" his teacher started the conversation smiling.

"I do, when I stare at them, I sometimes think about my friends and my hometown." He replied his reasons to stay awake at night.

"I don't blame you… I sometimes tend to stay awake for a while, it's very peaceful at night." Byleth agreed with him in that.

Sora was willing to say something when…

"Uhh… Aghhh…! Fath…! Save…!"

They heard somebody gasp in fear and horror and it even didn't take a second to tell whose voice was…

"Was that… Edelgard?" Sora was alert after recognizing her voice, it seemed that she got in trouble or something...

"Was it her?" Byleth was also guessing her voice pitch.

"_Look, guys, there's absolutely no ghost around here if that's what you thinking, right?" _Sothis advised them not to think about such phenomenon like this.

"It doesn't matter, let's go try to talk with Edelgard." Byleth indicated her student to investigate the room where the sound came from together.

**/**

**Edelgard's Room**

Edelgard was having a very harsh and ugly nightmare where she was apparently being tortured in very cruel and atrocious ways while she couldn't help but to let out a cry for help. But nobody came to save her.

After letting out a gasp, Edelgard opened her eyes looking not only grief-stricken but also emaciated as well. Having such atrocious dream, or event, must have left her scarred for life apparently.

"No…! Agh… Huh?! Who's there?!" Edelgard spat with a cutting voice, fearing that it might be somebody who could hurt her.

"Are you okay, Edelgard? It's me!" Sora replied talking through the door. "Can you let us in?"

"So-Sora? Who is coming with you?" Edelgard interrogated him skeptically. "If it's that idiot Claude, I won't let you guys in."

"No, I come with him." Byleth spoke letting the future empress know that she was with Sora, fulfilling her doubts.

"Okay… come in." Edelgard accepted the two letting them in her room.

That's how the future empress opened the door and let the two in. What the two saw in her made them worried.

"Edelgard…" Byleth expressed concern looking at her state.

"I'm sorry if you look at me like this, anyway, what are you guys doing here?" Edelgard made them a question surprised for their presence.

"We heard a few noises and I thought that something had happened to you so…" Sora explained their motives to visiting her.

"Oh? Perhaps I was talking in my sleep." The future empress tried to not tell them about her nightmare, but…

"Did you have bad dreams or something?" Byleth intuited the empress's problem.

"Oh, sure… so you both heard me, then." Edelgard praised the two of being the only ones who came to find out first. "Yes, it was a nightmare. I've had them since I was a child."

"Since you were a child?" Sora inquired her, getting intrigued for her past.

"Yes, Sora. Those are stupid, pointless dreams I can't control… it's really frustrating." Edelgard affirmed him telling the terrible incident.

"Is there anything we can help with? You know you can count on us for everything." Byleth proposed her to give her some aid.

"No, Byleth. They are just worthless dreams from the past. Talking about it won't change a thing." Edelgard denied claiming that those were just a past thing.

"You can trust us with anything." Sora affirmed making her see that she can count on him and their teacher.

"I had a feeling you'd say that, Sora. I suppose I could try… But only if you promise me not to tell a soul, okay?" Edelgard stated that she was willing to tell them her secret, in exchange for not telling anyone about what she was to reveal them.

"We promise." Byleth nodded with her head along with Sora willing to keep the secret from everyone.

"I appreciate it, guys." Edelgard began to tell her problem with a saddened and melancholic face. "I dream of… my older brother, paralyzed, helpless… my older sister crying for help that never came… the youngest babbling words beyond meaning. I see my family dying slowly, waiting in the darkest depths for a glimmer of light."

"It must be terrible, Edelgard." Byleth said in consternation. "How many siblings you had?"

"I once had ten siblings, eight older and two younger." The future empress answered her, leading them to understand that she was part of a large family.

"Wow, had a large family, didn't ya?" Sora was amazed for hearing her those words.

"Yep, such a large family, and yet I became the heir to the throne. Do you know why?" Edelgard started to explain them the reason of becoming the next empress in the future.

"Why?" Byleth asked.

"Every last one of them was crippled by disease or lost their mind or died." Edelgard explained the two. "I was the only one left who could inherit the throne."

"That's awful, how could such thing happen?" Sora asked looking at her with consternation.

"Things kept getting worse. The darkness kept getting darker. In the end, I was the only one who survived." Edelgard told them how disturbing was the incident for her and her family, getting them worried about her. "The nightmares are a reminder… to never forget. To never allow such terrible things to happen again."

"Never again…" Sora repeated those words remembering certain moments when he and the others were to face Master Xehanort, and when he watched helplessly how the old man was cutting Kairi down and killing her.

"Even now, I'm the only one who can carry the weight of the Adrestian Empire." Edelgard was more than resorted to go through everything to reach the throne and rule Fódlan.

"Are you sure you can handle all of this?" Byleth questioned her if she was capable of ruling such a big place.

"I am… The future of the Empire…of everything…depends on me." The girl affirmed her stance on that matter, but, she realized that she was telling some stuff she should not say to them. "Hm… I shared more than I intended to. I suppose there's something in the air tonight. I've never told anyone about my past before. Please… forget I said anything."

However, Sora suddenly sensed something.

"Girls, I just sensed some kind darkness." He let them know.

"Darkness? Are you feeling fine, Sora?" Edelgard looked puzzled upon hearing him say that.

"I'm fine, it's just… I somewhat sensed not only this kind of entity but some kind of a presence lurking outside of the Monastery." Sora reiterated affirming them sensing some strange energy outside.

"Well, in that case, shall we go investigate?" Byleth proposed them to go and examine the place.

"Yeah, Sora, you lead." Edelgard accepted and the three went out of the room to investigate.

**[SUPPORT BEWTEEN SORA AND EDELGARD HAS ATTAINED LEVEL B]**

**[SUPPORT BETWEEN BYLETH AND EDELGARD HAS ATTAINED LEVEL C]**

**/**

**SOMEWHERE IN THE MONASTERY**

While everybody else was asleep, Sora lead the women investigating the campus, but they weren't finding anything, in other words, Edelgard and Byleth were believing that Sora toyed with them.

"Sora, are you sure this is place where the darkness lies as you say?" the future empress questioned him feeling that she was being swindled.

"I am! I swear that this entity came from here! There must be some kind of shortcut that may lead us there!" Sora defended himself as to not look as a liar, when he noticed something. "Wait a minute… look."

"Looks like a passageway…" Byleth figure out a moderately damaged wall which created the said passageway, which had a light from afar.

This made Sora sense even more strange energy coming from the said place, besides, he felt a necessity of visiting it.

"Unless I sleepwalk, I kind of now figure out where the darkness lies, if that is, of course." Sora assumed starting to know that energy's location.

"I never thought I'd say this… but I believe in what you say, Sora, because I am kind of suspecting of this shortcut we just noticed. In fact, it reminds me of something." Edelgard affirmed in trusting Sora's medium sense. "I have heard tales of countless passages snaking beneath Garreg Mach. This is undoubtedly one of them."

"Besides so… We can't tell where that said darkness leads…" Byleth understood her student's words and the risks involved.

"Indeed, there's no telling what we could find… a formidable enemy and a lot of the heartless." Sora intuited the big dangers they might encounter in.

"Heartless… I remember seeing those creatures back when we first met." Edelgard said while remembering those dark creatures who almost took her out until being rescued by the keyblade wielder.

"I think I should go and investigate the passageway myself." Sora looked eager to go in on his own.

"Forget it Sora, it's far too dangerous to go on your own." Edelgard was not pleasant with this and advised him not to proceed alone. "I have no doubts that a threatening creature lies within that passageway and the area itself so we must proceed with caution."

"In that case, we'll come along, right Edelgard?" Byleth agreed with her.

"Of course, Byleth. If it was a thief, we must get him and not let them get away with their crime." The future empress thought the same, the three were preparing themselves to investigate the subject. "Considering what happened at the Mausoleum, vigilance is prevalent."

"You're right, it's wise for us three to go and find out." Sora agreed to head to the passageway together.

"Likewise, let's be on our way. Unless there's something else we should call for?" Edelgard asked their teacher if they should call for backup.

"I think the three of us should suffice." Byleth suggested that just the three ought to go.

"Byleth's right, there's no time to lose." Sora agreed with her.

They were getting ready to head to the passageway until…

"Whoa guys! What are you three doing at this nighttime? Acting as vigilantes around the monastery?" Dorothea showed up along with the other Black Eagles.

"I never thought I'd find you guys all awake." seconded Ferdinand surprised like his classmates.

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Sora was also taken aback by their sudden appearance.

"Well, we heard some kind of noises around the monastery and we decided to investigate on our own, and this is how we all found you, mister Sora." Hubert explained the reason of being able to casually find them.

"I di- didn't want to come here! I want to head back to sleep!" Bernadetta looked freaked out due to the noises. She wanted to go back to the bed. "Those noises are creepy…

"You will be protected, Bernadetta, ok? You just have to fight back the monsters." Sora calmed her down telling her to defend herself.

"I-I will."

"It's certainly a rare and unexpected sighting… especially considering the hour." Said Ashe having weird thoughts about this incident.

"Looks like a whole lot of something is about to happen. I'm going back to bed." Linhardt was willing to head back to his room when Caspar stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere, Linhardt!" he told him to stay with them. "Your bad luck is our good fortune, so you're coming with us."

"You all can count on my support if you want." Petra stated that she was willing to give them a hand.

"Thanks Petra, now this mission will be quite easier, with the assistance of all of you guys, we will get through this." Byleth said those making them high-spirited.

"Happy to help, teacher! We don't have anything better to do at this hour, so we may pitch in." Ashe expressed enthusiasm.

"Alright, guys, let's be on our way. Are you ready, Byleth?" Sora got ready just like everyone else.

"Yeah, okay my students, this is a mission we haven't have before, get your weapons ready, we don't know whom we might encounter." Byleth commanded them to prepare themselves to fight anyone who could try to get on their way.

"Yes, teacher!"

**/**

**DEPTHS OF THE MONASTERY – ABYSSIAN CLASSROOM**

Way down the surface in a classroom, two men were standing beside each other for no apparent reason or something.

"Ugh… Yuri, this is brutal, man. Tell me again why you're subjecting me to this freaking boredom…" said the elder man with a much shaped body and black combed hair.

"Enough with the yawning, Balthus. If you're really that bored, we could always make a friendly wager." The young boy with a lilac hair replied telling him to stop complaining and make a bet with him if he was that eager to take the boredom out.

"Thanks but no thanks, pal. I'm low on funds as it is." Balthus indicated his lack of money as to make bets with him. "Last thing I need is another debt I can't pay."

Two girls appeared before them from nowhere just to tell them few things.

"Right, B. As if you could say no to that." Spoke a brown-skinned girl with a long red hair in a monotone voice.

"Aaaaahahaha! How diverting that you should bicker for my amusement!" said another girl with a short blonde hair mocking the two men. "Imagine my overwhelming dread were I stuck here without such joyous entertainment."

"Count me out. I'll leave the talking to Yuri-bird and Coco." The red-haired woman didn't want to see the bickering between them, when suddenly…

"Hey, boss!" a rogue called Yuri to bring the group some news.

"Back already, huh? Have you detected any movement on the surface?" the boy asked him if he had news.

"Well, uh, I looked for the cardinals' meeting-just like you said…" the rogue began to tell everything he saw back on the surface. "The thing is… I was spotted by some weirdos, one of them holds a weird weapon that has a key-like shape. They chased after me and everything."

"Some weirdos, and key-like weapon, you say. So very helpful. They weren't knights, were they?" Yuri was rather curious after hearing the news or even better, he found the latter quite, interesting.

"I dunno. There were only few of 'em, but I bet they were armed to the teeth." The rogue didn't have idea if those people were knight or not, but he recognized how strongly they were armed.

"With a meager number like that, I doubt they intend to take on Abyss." Yuri had a negative feeling about those people his rogue mentioned.

"They probably took you for some kind of villain, they'll lock ya up if they catch you, man." Balthus warned him to be careful of not get caught, only to be excited about fighting. "Finally, a little action! Let's find them first and throw some punches."

"Wait, Balthus! This ignorance to rush itself headfirst into trouble." Constance, the blonde girl, tried to stop the man from rushing himself to find these guys.

"You're excited to fight too. You've been waiting for a chance to try out your shiny new magic." Hapi, the red-haired girl figured out that they all were excited to have action too.

"Heh heh, surface laws don't apply down here. That give us the freedom to have some fun with them." Yuri was very eager to have fun as the others. "They're probably not knights, but our new friends definitely work for the church."

"Wha… Wait! Don't leave me behind!" Constance wasn't willing to stay behind and joined the three.

**/**

Meanwhile, Byleth and her whole class had gone downstairs inside the passageway to access the the depths of the Monastery, it didn't look as creepy as everyone were making it out, it was a basement with some kind of a normal room aspect.

"Hmm… It seems this place is more than a simple passageway." There's clear evidence of human habitation" Edelgard said while scanning the room.

"Are there some people here?" Sora asked while taking a look at the place.

"It seems so, I remember hearing some stories like that and I took them as such rumors." said Caspar while noticing some people from afar. "I heard that this whole place was called… Abyss."

"Exactly, young boy!" Balthus' voice came from nowhere and appeared at the front of everyone. "Welcome to Abyss, strangers."

"Who are you?" Byleth interrogated him in a defense stance.

"That uniform…" Edelgard was taken aback at his clothes. "It's almost the same as ours…"

"Welcome, curious students of the Officer Academy! What brings such fine, upstanding surface dwellers to our humble abode?"

"We're tracking someone who was creeping around the monastery." Sora explained the reasons to be there.

"Our business here doesn't concern you, could please let us pass?" Edelgard tried to ask him to let them in, but the man had some plans for them.

"Aaahahaha! Such indulgence simply cannot be permitted." Constance appeared aside Balthus stating that they wouldn't let in easily giving them a challenging glare.

"Who are you guys? And why won't you let us pass?!" Sora questioned them, showing the same glare as well.

"Your words may fool the fool, but I cannot be so easily deceived!" the blonde girl replied him in a mocking voice and introduced herself. "My name is Constance von Nuvelle and I shall divine your true intentions. You are here by the order of the church… which cruelly plots to eliminate the inhabitants of the Abyss!"

"You think we're here to harm you?" Byleth denied such claim telling her that they were not there hurt them and neither sent by the church.

"Did she say…? Nuvelle?" Edelgard was puzzled after hearing that last name, it seemed so familiar for her.

"I don't care what the reason for this brawl is. A fight is on the menu, and I'm ready to feast." Balthus expressed his immense urge to fight anyone. "Let's get right to it, yeah?"

"Looks like these guys are tough! I bet they are gonna tears apart!" Caspar knew that these were experienced combatants, and it would be hard to defeat.

"Yeah, I think we should retreat for now, it would be a suicide if these two crushed us all quickly." Hubert suggested them to leave immediately. Until…

"Turning back already?" Yuri's voice was heard from the ceiling and jumped down towards Byleth and her students. "Oh, but you'll make me so sad. Now why would you wanna do that?"

And he didn't come alone, as he was soon joined by Hapi, finally reuniting with the others of their own.

"Everyone here is starved for amusement. They've been waiting for a good fight." He stated his biggest wish for a fight with them.

"Look at that, a fine example of a surprise attack, you guys surely are rattlesnakes." Ferdinand flattered them, something that the future empress didn't like.

"Ferdinand, this isn't the moment to be impressed by those enemies, we must find a way though at once." Edelgard berated him for his cocky attitude.

"She's right." Sora agreed with her while summoning his Kingdom Key weapon just in case, something that surprise Yuri and the others.

"Hold on… That weapon…" Balthus was taken aback looking at Sora's keyblade. "Sora isn't it? Sora Nomura, the keyblade wielder?

"Yes. I'm Sora, I take you have heard things from me, haven't you?" Sora affirmed it, confirming them his identity.

"Nobody else have this foreign name like yours… I'm amazed that you were able to enroll at the academy this year." The man gave his opinion about it in that state, he was more than glad to meet him. "You are a unique guy who was lucky to have these classmate of yours. Looks like my luck's finally taking a turn for the good. All right, so your choices are as follows: line up for the beating of a lifetime… or let us lock you up like the good boys and girls you undoubtedly are."

This left them speechless as the threat was becoming prevalent, they ain't going to be locked up in a dungeon of awful smell, but they also didn't want to have a big beating with those guys either.

"What should be do? We can't let those guys lock us away! Come on!" Caspar was not pleasant with this hard decision, as he didn't want to be locked up in a fudged up cell.

"How can you guys do whatever you want? You aren't anything to tell us what to do!" Ferdinand also expressed annoyance, only to be given a rather intimidating glare from Edelgard for being reckless.

"Damn it…" Sora realized that they didn't have a choice. "We don't have a clue what this guy's going on about, but it looks like a fight's in order, and this is pretty much all my fault."

"Hey, don't blame yourself, Sora." Byleth comforted him asking to not disregard himself. "It was our idea, after all."

"Besides, looks like we don't have a choice but to fight them." Edelgard understood the trouble they all had.

"Finally! Let's do this already! Prepare to face the Almighty King of Grapping!" Balthus declared them in an eager voice that he and his friends were more than ready to fight them.

The huge brawl was about to break out between both teams.

**END OF CHAPTER 18**

**/**

**-Dark Aura Signature: It's a skill that allows the user to sense every type of darkness except for the corrupted within any being, or even strange energy and track down its origin, like Sora when he learned it after defeating Death Knight.**

**So, this is the prologue of the Cindered Shadows arc, I must confess that I wanted to write this a very long time ago thanks to a follower of mine who suggested me to.**

**The enemies the whole gang is gonna encounter will mostly be heartless, those will be the primary ones.**

**And, Byleth will use the newly found Sword of the Creator to defeat every enemy she encounters.**

**That's all I can say, see you next chapter.**


	20. A Brawl in Abyss

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroak: I understand you, I have played the DLC and it's difficult because of limited resources, but anyway, I will try to not to give the spoilers quickly.**

**RedRat8: Indeed, the game itself leaves more questions than answers regarding the relationship with Jeralt, Rhea and Sitri.**

**FabledLife: You just read my mind, given how Sora makes almost every female have a crush on him due to his foreign aspect, he's likely to interact with more girls around him and increase his support with the others.**

**CHAPTER 19 – A Brawl in Abyss**

**PASSAGEWAY**

Sora and his classmates traveled through the depths of the monastery until reaching the passageway, and then they met with some strangers along the way, who they challenged a senseless fight without meeting nor knowing at least that much.

"Would you mind telling us who are you at least? It doesn't make sense to cross blades without knowing each other!" Sora stated his disdain due to the opposing group's attitude.

"Wow, does it hurt to take yourself that seriously?" said Hapi in monotone and dry voice. "Answer the man's question, B"

"Huh? Why me? Eh, fine. We're the Ashen Wolves, fellas." Balthus introduced his team. "We're the secret fourth house in Abyss. The surface world turned its back on us, and we did the same in return. Back for back, as they say."

"A fourth house? No way. Still, we must focus on the battle ahead…" Edelgard expressed incredulity after hearing those words.

Who could tell that there was a secret fourth house? Nobody knew this big secret until this moment when the Black Eagles stepped in the passageway and met a new group called Ashen Wolves.

"Seems like it'll be tough to fight here. It's kind of dark. Looks like a great place to nap, though…" Linhardt wasn't enthusiastic about fighting in the dark place.

"The locks on those gates look really complicated… there must be another way through." Ashe realized that this place was hard to travel due to many locked gates around the passageway.

"Then we gotta find a shortcut." Byleth suggested them to find another way. "Follow me, some of you guys watch our backs in case we run into rogues over here."

Everyone nodded with their heads and went straight ahead passing through a gate while dealing with a couple of rogues and taking them down among the way.

Ashe took down few archers from few meters on both sides alongside Bernadetta, while Sora, Edelgard and the others dealt with some swordsmen and fighters as well.

"Impressive! Seems like you've trained your whole group! I'll give you that!" Balthus flattered the blue-navy woman, impressed with their actions.

"I'm just a simple teacher." Said Byleth stating her occupation.

"A simple teacher… Looks like your students have learned how to fight very well." The man praised the Black Eagles members. "Hey, Nomura! I heard greatest things about you! Come and get some, kiddo! I won't hold back, so you better not either!"

"Looking forward it!" Sora accepted his challenge preparing his keyblade: the Oblivion.

"Yeah! That's more like it! These fists are packed with years of pent-up resentment. Time to let loose, Nomura!"

**[INFORMATION: Defeat Balthus!]**

Balthus prepared his huge gauntlets, the Vajra-Mushti, to charge towards Sora, who in turn would in turn do the same and their weapons clashed with each other.

During that moment, Balthus landed few punches on the keyblade wielder sending him flying few meters to the floor, but to his surprise, Sora got on his feet showing a lot of bravery and the will to fight.

"Those punches of yours sent me flying." said Sora with a smirk on his face.

"I must admit that you are the first person ever to not be knocked out by my gauntlets." Balthus grinned in response recognizing his strong stamina. "Most people wouldn't have been able to stand a chance."

"Well, now it's my turn to show you what I'm made of!" the keyblade wielder expressed emotion while transforming himself into Dark Form. "Let the games begin!"

Sora charged towards Balthus, who tried to punch him again but the boy anticipated this and dodged the brutal blow and gave him a certain number of strong slashes on his back.

Balthus fought back by clashing with Sora while mutually hitting each other, however, just as he was about to land a blow on his opponent, Sora counterattacked by guarding the punch and performing a counter kick onto his face.

He didn't waste any time to make several sword combos and throw him down to the ground with one last but a strong slash, making Balthus make a crack on the floor.

However, Balthus wasn't willing to give up easily as he got up.

"You are good, Nomura! I can see you are capable of making devastating techniques!" Balthus praised Sora for his merits looking amazed after witnessing his capability.

"You too, your gauntlets are able to knock somebody!" The keyblade wielder replied in the same manner. "Let's finish this!"

"You asked for it! Don't hold back!"

Sora and Balthus charged at each other again giving each other intense and daring glares while clashing their weapons, the elder man landed a punch across the boy's face but this didn't prevent Sora from landing a strong slash across his torso and performing Sonic Blade five times without giving Balthus some time to react and try to evade it until with one last thrust, Sora sent Balthus few meters up and crushing the floor, defeating him finally.

"Urgh… You've guts, I'll give you that much, kiddo." Balthus recognized his defeat. "Be careful with Yuri and the others, Nomura. Those are smart enough to take an entire gang out."

"I'll take it into account, you just rest." Sora replied understanding his warning before taking his leave to join his team.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Dorothea asked him.

"Yeah, he's a tough man." Sora replied recognizing Balthus strength.

"Alright, let us proceed finding our next target, come on." Byleth indicated her students.

Byleth lead them into searching for their next opponent while checking every corner around the passageway, Hapi however, seemed surprised at the way Sora defeated Balthus, and that made her take some drastic measures in order for them to mess up and fail.

"Come to think about it, there's an easier way to handle this." She sighed and then summoned a snake-like creature in front of the Black Eagles, leaving them surprised.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Caspar babbled in amuse looking at the creature.

"It couldn't have been a summoning spell… Or it was..." Linhardt replied in the same state as everyone.

"Looks like a snake! We have to take him down!" said Byleth suggesting her students to kill the creature in order to proceed further.

"Looks like it, those guys are really smart." Dorothea said while casting her thunder magic onto the snake.

Byleth and her students charged at the snake to strike it down by any means, Edelgard threw the axe towards it and swayed the creature. Ferdinand soon followed and pierced its torso with his lance.

"The creature has stood still!" said the guy right after pulling his weapon off the snake's torso.

"I can see that! Let's clear this place, guys!" Sora replied preparing himself to give a final blow to the creature.

In response, Byleth stepped towards the snake-like creature, who tried to bite her but she dodged it and gave a brutal and critic slash across its neck, leaving it unable to move and exposed.

Sora immediately charged and performed a number of slashes and finally killed the snake with the Zantetsuken ability to definitely clear the room for his team.

"Let's go, c'mon!" Sora told them to keep pushing forward.

Everyone resumed searching for their next opponent while fighting a number of rogues who were trying to stop them, nonetheless, Byleth, Sora and the others managed to put the ruffians down.

After walking for a few more minutes, the whole Black Eagles found the next rival to defeat, it was Constance, who was mounted on a Pegasus and waiting for them.

"Constance!" Sora called after finding her.

"Oh, so you managed to come all this way after fighting a lot of opponents…" the blonde girl gave him a compelling but challenging glare. "Underestimate the denizens of Abyss and it won't end well for you! Tremble in fear at my magical might! Aaahahaha!"

"Are you done rambling?!" Sora dared her while transforming into Light Form. "Bring it on!"

**[INFORMATION: Defeat Constance!]**

Sora ran towards Constance and tried to land a swing at her, but she quickly lifted up avoiding the attack, then casted an icy spell which popped up some ice spikes from the ground hitting Sora in the process.

"Crap…!" he said between teeth while feeling the pain after taking damage. "She's not a joke!"

Ashe tried to shoot her down but she was so fast that no arrow could hit her, for the silver-haired boy's frustration.

Sora regained balance and immediately retaliated charging at her with airstep along with a number of combo slashes between her and the Pegasus.

"Gaah!" Constance growl in pain while feeling the attack. "Such persistence! I cannot believe a kid like you could retaliate me like that! Now you will feel the real pain you gotta go through!"

Constance casted the same spell again in a considerable effort to put Sora down, however, he read her movements and dodge the icy spikes to avoid taking damage.

"Take this!" Edelgard shouted throwing her axe to knock Constance off the pegasus.

Constance fell off to the floor and stood up glaring them in annoyance.

"For Pete's sake!" she spat in that state. "Si-Since when have you fo-fought like that?"

Alright, Constance was beginning to have her cheeks slightly blushed due to Sora's presence, but she shook her head in order to focus on defeating him and the others.

"For a very long time." Sora replied to putting himself in attack stance, waiting for her to attack.

It was then when Constance casted another spell which involved some magic arrows.

"Now you're gonna cry under your tomb! Aaaaahahahaha!" Constance laughed maniacally upon firing the arrows towards him.

Sora ran as fast as he could to avoid taking many hits, given on how faster they were, however, Sora saw a chance to fight back and just in time when she finished performing her technique, he used the Strike Raid ability to throw his keyblade at Constance five consecutive times until eventually knocking her down.

"Grrh… It's not that I'm defeated so much as that I'm temporarily grounded. Well, I indeed am defeated thanks to your amusing powers, kid." Constance admitted her defeat becoming a little blushed looking at his face.

"You've fought very well too." Sora smiled at her admiring her strength.

"Di-Did I? Well, it was just a matter of luck, but anyway, it was a pleasure to have tested each other's strength." Constance replied glaring at him with flirting.

Sora and the others headed to the next area looking for their last opponent to defeat, Sora defeated Balthus and Constance, all it was left was Yuri, the leader of the Ashen Wolves.

The group soon encountered him standing at the front of them, waiting for somebody to face him.

"Well, what we have here? Some lost kids stumbling around in the dark." Said Yuri in a dark but daring tone. "Stay awhile, won't you? Shame indeed not to have a bit of fun with each other while we've got the chance you know?"

"I'll face him." Byleth spoke as she set her sword ready.

"Never thought I'd have the chance to face such a beautiful professor." the light-lilac haired guy replied in the same manner. "Hope you're ready."

**[INFORMATION: Defeat Yuri!]**

Byleth decided to step forward to begin the fight between her and the lilac-haired boy clashing each other's weapons. Yuri teleported himself behind her to try to slash her down, however, Byleth prevented him from harming her by shielding herself with her sword and counterattacked by responding with a diagonal slash across his body, impressing him in the process.

"Woah! You really have a lot of reflexes, ma'am." Yuri praised her for being able to dodge his attack. "Let's see if you can walk out of here unharmed."

The two clashed their weapons each other again glaring intensely at each other, Yuri slashed her across her torso, but Byleth didn't get swayed and decided to retaliate by using her sword's powers to knock him down.

"Heh heh. Maybe I got carried away. You're a pretty strong woman." Yuri said between teeth recognizing his defeat at the woman's hands.

"H-Hey… seems like we all got beaten by these guys…" Balthus came up accompanied by Constance and Hapi supporting each other while walking as they could. "We must recognize you had guts to get through this."

"Looks like we've won, right?" assumed Sora feeling victorious. "Uh… B, was it?"

"Name's Balthus, dude. I don't lose often, but I can at least recognize what it looks like." He introduced himself in a friendly tone.

"I'm Sora." The keyblade wielder replied back introducing himself as well. "You guys are capable of almost wiping anybody."

"Of course, I see you and your whole team are capable of defeating the toughest opponents you encounter." Balthus stated praising their way of defeating them.

"May we know why we had to fight each other? I feel that this wasn't necessary." Edelgard demanded to know the motives of this senseless brawl.

"Really was, lady. Best way to acquaint yourselves with someone is to get into a tussle with 'em. That's common sense here." Balthus explained her the reason to incite the fight between them.

"That… doesn't sound quite right." Byleth didn't like the idea to start that brawl from nowhere like Balthus did.

"That's the correct response from a reasonable person. We're not all as far gone as Balthus here." Yuri agreed with her.

"Say what you will, but I learned all I needed to know. It's clear this lot has nothing to do with the church's intentions. But that means those other creeps could always attack us at any moment." Balthus stated his suspicions towards a mysterious group.

"Who would attack you?" Byleth asked him about the group's identity.

"Someone's targeting Abyss. Mercenaries keep sniffing around and cause trouble here. They won't let up." he said showing concerns about their security.

"I see… I think this must be the reason that I sensed the darkness coming from here." Sora felt curious after hearing these words. "But, who would it be?"

"It's a real problem, and we have no clue who's pulling the strings." Yuri admitted not having idea on who was the culprit of that mess. "There are many within the church who would love to see this 'filthy' underground city purged. When you guys first showed up, we thought you were here just to do that. Apologies for the confusion."

"So that's why you came at us and started this senseless brawl." Dorothea comprehended the mess they all provoked.

"As Yuri-bird said, we're sorry. We're all pretty on edge these days." Hapi was also apologizing to everyone.

"Indeed! That someone would descend to Abyss out of pure curiosity was far too outlandish to consider." Constance expressed her failure to make use of her judgement instead of acting out of impulsively.

"What is the purpose of Abyss?" Sora wanted to know about the underground, just like everyone else.

"No idea, pals. These tunnels have been around for ages. They could be older than the monastery for all we know." Balthus admitted not knowing the answers.

"None remain who know the complete truth. However, I shall tell you all that we know for certain." Constance affirmed knowing something and proceed to explain it to them. "Abyss is home to those who shun the light of day. It is the secret shadow of Garreg Mach, if you will."

"So… this is your hideout." Ashe understood the place they all were.

"The church quietly tolerate us. They think they need a place like this for Garreg Mach to thrive." Hapi assumed this suspicion towards the church.

"The deal is simple. Abyssians never get involved with the surface, and the surface never gets involved with us." Yuri gave them an important fact, if abyssians aren't involved with the surface, then they wouldn't have any trouble with each other.

"But! For some foul reason, surface dwellers have been after us lately." Constance's face was written in bother. "Further oppressing those souls who can only find solace beneath the ground? I cannot abide it!"

"How could somebody breach this deal?" Sora asked out of intrigue.

"I don't know, kiddo. Though it pains me to admit, we, too, harbor valid reasons for not venturing into the light." The girl expressed her reasons to not go to the surface. "That is why, by the grace of our esteemed patron, we have been granted sanctuary here in Abyss."

"I see… Balthus, does that mean you guys have a reason for being here, right?" Edelgard was figuring out their motive to stick inside.

"Afraid, so. I'm here because… there are more bounties on my head than there is hair. Needed lay low. Real low." he replied with a facepalm, leading her to understand that he needed to stay in that place.

"Really?" the future empress lifted an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Enough with the niceties. Let's get these surface dwellers out of here." Yuri tried to command his partners to kick Sora's gang out of their hideout.

"What?! Forget it!" Constance questioned him expressing doubts. "Why would ever we let slip this chance to acquire their aid?"

"You guys need our help, right?" Byleth asked the group if they would assist them.

"Like we said, recently this place is being targeted by mercenaries, myself excluded, a lot of folks who live here can't defend themselves. They're here to avoid conflict." Balthus explained the recent events he and the others had to deal with. "The elderly, the infirm… orphans, lost souls… merchants who were chewed up and spit out by the nobility. The works."

"It rests upon us to protect those who cannot protect themselves… to safeguard our home." Constance expressed her reason to protect the weak and looked at the group, and then focused on Sora. "To the noble end, I must insist that you guys lend us your strength."

"Wait a second, we just had a brawl with each other, alright? I cannot help but to wonder why you would trust us quickly, we come from the surface after all." Edelgard wondered if it was a good idea to put a trust on the Ashen Wolves.

"Trust is a choice. We're choosing to trust you guys. For now. It's clear you're not here by command of the church." Yuri stated placing his trust on the Black Eagles.

"We got nothing to do with the church's doctrine so yeah, we came here by our own will." Sora affirmed his words, expressing subtle disgust towards the church's system.

"I see, you're not just a bunch of noble twerps, either. You can hold your own. It's in the way you fight. How you carry yourselves." The liliac-haired boy praised the team for their skills. "Still… I'm reluctant to get you involved with this madness."

"It's too late now." Hapi made him understand that there was no turning back now. "We already told them everything. Let's at least give them a chance to decide for themselves."

"That's right. Wander about Abyss for a time and I certain you will come to the only correct conclusion." Constance agreed with her friend, giving them a free pass to explore the basement.

"Right, what she said. Take a look, think some thoughts. Consider themselves our special guests." Balthus invited them to feel themselves as home.

**END OF CHAPTER 19**


	21. Ambush in the underground

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**FabledLife: Sora did indeed change his keyblade with Oathkeeper, also, he's able to dodge any attacks, but let's say that Sora would need to take few hits for balancing purposes, cause let's be honest, Sora has faced many stronger enemies, they beat him up badly but he still got back up and erased them from the map.**

**RedRat8: Me too, given how Jeralt sees Rhea about his wife… he would likely talk to her daughter about this and ask her to keep this secret from everybody.**

**Antex-TheLegendary Zoroak: That's the deal, they could go anywhere while leading the Ashen Wolves.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 20 – AMBUSH IN THE UNDERGROUND**

**ABYSS BASEMENT**

After having a brief brawl with the Ashen Wolves, the Black Eagles resorted to explore the whole basement of Abyss with Yuri's authorization, everything was new for them, even to use this place as a shelter in case of big disaster situations or something like that.

Sora was accompanying Dorothea, Edelgard and Constance during the walk around the hideout, some people would say that he is a lucky guy who can get some girls, but, Sora isn't a ladies' man like Sylvain. That is a myth. Sora gets any girl's attention due to his figure and, more importantly, his personality and influence on anyone.

"So, let me get this straight, kid." Constance wanted to confirm something. "You are a classmate with the Imperial princess herself, am I right?"

"I am. I take part of the Black Eagles' classroom with Edelgard and the others." Sora affirmed her question.

"That's right, Sora is my classmate just like others. And you are Constance of House Nuvelle." Edelgard emphasized her words. "I recall hearing of your disappearance. I never would have imagined you'd end up in a place like this…"

"Your presence is equally curious. What business could you have here, guys?" Constance asked their motives to be at their underground hideout. "Don't tell me it was an idle curiosity."

"Well, I kind of sensed a trace of darkness around the surface we decided to follow it and this is how we ended up here." Sora explained to her. "Could it be that my sense of scent is deceiving me?"

"As I believe you are well aware, we were chasing after a suspicious individual." Edelgard gave her a reason of their presence as well.

"Indeed, we believe there's some kind of creeps wandering around the basement." Dorothea assumed the suspicions.

"As far as I believe, they could be anywhere, no doubt." Sora agreed with her, he was certain that not only the creatures habited somewhere, if this was true, then it meant that Heartless could be wandering too.

"Indeed. Anyway, Sora, you don't look like a holy knight but, you bear a special name and attitude." Constance said, trying to not have her cheeks blushed.

"That's what everyone says about me, given that I come from a very, very far away." Sora replied placing his hands behind his head in a chilling voice.

"He's got an exotic figure, and I even saw a Sora's fan club." Dorothea remarked in a teasing voice, making him blush in the process.

"Dorothea!" Sora protested upon hearing her saying too much.

"Ahahaha! So, you got a lot of girls chasing after you, huh?" Constance laughed teasing him.

"Couldn't be any worse… I wish Claude took my place as a girl magnet." Sora expressed his disdain with a huge anime-style drop onto his head.

"Claude indeed has a lot of women going after him." Edelgard came out with some trivia. "I kind of figure out that he also come from a very far place. But Sora attracts many women's attention for who he is, and not for his looks. He's a nice guy."

**/**

Meanwhile at the Abyssian Residences, a fellow Rogue met with Yuri to bring him some news.

"We're all done here, Boss. Oh, but more importantly, about your-."

"Well discuss that another time. For now, tend to your mission." Yuri interrupted him. "Don't worry. No one will die. We'll get everyone our safely."

"Hmm…"

"Once the trap is set, shift your focus to protecting the Abyssians, just in case things go south."

Just in time, Sora and the others appeared at the front of them, presumably hearing the conversation.

"What was that about?" Byleth interrogated the ashen wolves' leader.

"Oh, it's you, guys." Yuri greeted him with a smirk on his face. "I was just heading off to ambush our attackers. You'll help with that, won't you?"

"Oh, does that mean your enemies are coming, aren't they?" Sora figured out his message, just before sensing the darkness drawing near. "I think you're right."

"You have a very sharp sense, don't ya, Sora. Very good! The scouts I sent to the surface spotted some mercenaries, but not only those guys, but some kind of dark creepy creatures alongside them." Yuri remarked Sora's dark sense and explained more details. "We closed off the entrance they used last, but it seems they've found another."

"This is bad! We gotta evacuate everyone from Abyss as soon as possible." Ashe said with worrisome on his voice.

"That won't be necessary. They'll be back soon." Yuri replied.

"Who?" Edelgard was curious just like everyone else.

"Why do I have to go? No matter what we do, we're all just gonna die in the end, anyway." Hapi appeared from behind reprimanded him for being told to go with them.

"Sure, but if we don't do something, we'll die a lot sooner. I assume the corridor is successfully camouflaged?" Yuri said showing a smirk on his face due to his confidence.

"But of course! Our decoys shall prevent those scoundrels from chancing upon our living quarters." Constance spoke with optimism to everybody. "Do note that I am the bail upon your hook. If we fail, I shall be left dangling in the wind. Aahahaha! But it must be done, I fear! And I will most happily accept the starring role in this-."

"They're at the entrance. They'll be coming in from the east." Balthus brought the news to the team, leading them to be put in action.

"What did you just say?" Constance was shocked after hearing him say that.

"The east… Good. We're well placed. Go ahead and draw them deeper into Abyss, just like we planned." Yuri indicated him some actions to take.

"Why are they targeting Abyss?" Ferdinand questioned him.

"I'd like to know that myself. But things go first. We've got make it through this encounter." Yuri admitted not knowing the reasons of those creepers crawling in their hideout. "Launching small counterattacks on the surface won't accomplish anything. It could also earn us the scorn of the church, if it get messy, which it will. That's why we have to lure enemy underground before we take them out. I know the perfect spot."

"Admit it, pals. You're knee-deep in this, just like us. There's no turning back now, right?" Balthus incited them to give them the aid they needed, given that they had accepted to stay in the basement.

"Of course not! If there's any way we can help your cause, we won't turn our backs on you." Ashe expressed his willingness to give them a hand.

"Yeah, you can count on us!" Sora seconded in the same emotion.

"That's right. We will not stand still while innocent people in Abyss are in danger." Edelgard also confirmed her will to help. "If we can capture the enemy, then we can perhaps learn the reason behind their relentless attacks."

"Excited, are you? Fine. We could use more bodies to throw at our enemies. Thanks for volunteering." Hapi was subtly amazed at their willingness to give them aid.

"So long as they're fighting with us and not against us, I don't care how excited they are. Let's get to it!" Balthus expressed a lot of enthusiasm with the incoming fight.

With that, our heroes headed to Yuri's most ideal spot to lure and ambush the creepers, aware that they had not only hostile mercenaries coming in, but also certain dark creatures joining too.

**/**

**UNDERGROUND ARENA.**

Byleth, Sora and the others walked in wide area: the underground arena, a sports zone which the abyssians came in to do sort of sports exercises or something. But this was the perfect place to lure the enemies and ambush them.

"Wow. An underground arena, huh? You sure know some great spots, Yuri." Balthus compelled him in compelling tone.

"I heard about this place from someone back in town. It hasn't been in use for a long time." Yuri said in a badass tone, finding this place as a perfect zone to carry out the operation. "I figured it could prove useful, so I spent some time clearing out the debris that was blocking the entrance."

"It seems to be a revitalized ruin… Perhaps it was originally a reception hall or something similar." Edelgard thought about how changed this place was.

"Perhaps. Honestly, all of Abyss feels like a ruin." Dorothea concluded.

"Ahaha! This place is magnificent! It is just spacious enough to contain my glory! I shall not hold back here!" Constance expressed her wishes to fight in this place.

"Large. Insolated. I wonder if it would be Ok for me to sigh here…" Hapi replied in a dry and monotone voice, like always.

"Sigh?" Byleth frowned after hearing her say that.

"If Hapi sighs, monsters come running. No, I'm not kidding." Balthus said it, making some of Black Eagles gasp.

"What the..?! Does she summon monsters just like that?!" Caspar gabbled in shock.

"I'm not sure what could you possibly mean by that…" Edelgard seconded in the same state.

"I wish, Hapi, but no. Absolutely no sighing. And, Constance, be glorious in moderation." Yuri advised the girls to not be reckless and behave. "Got it? This place is so big that if it collapses, all of Abyss will fall with it. The whole reason we're luring our enemies here is to avoid damaging Abyss. Don't lose sight of that."

"Aaaahahaha! I'm well aware of our aim, Yuri." Constance replied in an amused tone.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean we can trust you to show restraint." Balthus commented showing sort of concern about their attitudes, especially the blonde's.

"They are right, Constance, it would be reckless for you to get carried away like this." Sora tried to advise her to not use excessive force, something that she didn't like to hear.

"You as well, Sora?! I cannot fathom why I am being treated in such way." Constance replied in an annoyed tone for telling her what to do. "It is the duty of the nobility to preserve the people's safety. Do you truly believe that I would destroy Abyss in my efforts to save it? Preposterous!"

"That would cause trouble for Elfie too." Hapi was also concerned about the underground's integrity. "If the underground collapses, he's the one who will have to answer for it."

"Who's Elfie?" Byleth asked for the person's identity.

"You must know Aelfric, yeah?" Balthus started to explain them something about that man.

"Aelfric?" Sora asked the question looking curious like everybody from his house.

"He's a big wig in the church, but a friend of Abyss." The elder man mentioned that man's occupation. "He's the one who opened up this place to folks with nowhere else to turn. Folks like us. He gave us a home, a new life."

"It is Aelfric himself who put forth the idea of establishing the Ashen Wolf House." Constance mentioned more actions of that man. "Sadly, he faces opposition within the church, and so he cannot openly deploy the knights to aid us."

"That means Aelfric relies upon us to protect the people who live here… Us… and now you." Yuri stated his initiative to defend the whole place. "I hope you're ready, professor. We're counting on you."

"We won't let you down." Byleth expressed her willingness to help. "You have our back up."

"Reliable, aren't you? We'll owe you one." Hapi looked pleasured with that answer.

"Time knock some sense into their thick skulls. They picked the wrong strangers to mess with!"

As expected, a number of mercenaries came to the underground intending to loot the whole basement, but to their dismay, all of this place was so wide for this little group to loot.

"Aah! I knew following those shady kids was a bad idea. This place is massive!" said one of the mercenaries freaking out.

"Heh, they actually fell for it. Let's get this done!" Balthus said with a laugh between teeth, seeing how their plan was working, if that's what they thought.

"Other mercenaries are on their way. We left a nice little trail or crumbs for them to follow." Yuri gave indications to his partners. "We need to take them all out, or they'll just keep coming. Let's pull together."

The plan was to ambush the attackers that were getting to the underground so Yuri idealized it this way:

Sora went to the right inferior corner with his Black Eagles partners to fight the intruders that were entering at that side. Yuri on the other hand decided to stick at the center with his Ashen Wolves team.

The mercenaries were getting near the Ashen Wolves to give them a beat up, but, Balthus was the first to step forward and face the first one.

"It'll be a shame to mar this pretty arena with a bunch of fresh corpses, but here goes!" he said before giving that mercenary an intense and brutal number of combo punches with his gauntlets, killing him in the process.

Yuri then ran towards the other mercenary ready to kill him. "Be careful who you choose to follow. Ha, I suppose it's too late for that now, isn't it?"

He then proceeded to slash the mercenary with a remarkable and swiftly movement to dodge the enemy's attacks and annihilated the man with ease.

It was Hapi's turn to get to the action, she rode across the underground heading to another mercenary to kill. "You're a real pain in the neck, you know that?" she said nonchalantly before casting a dark spell to take the mercenary out. "Huh. That was easy."

Constance also went to face and take out another mercenary, however, she seemed so fired up about battling and defending the place at the same time. "You'll not find it so easy to escape from the darkest depths of Garreg Mach!" she warned him getting ready to strike.

She casted the same ice spell to emerge the icy spikes from the ground, taking the mercenary out in the process. "I did it!" said Constance happy with her actions.

On the other hand, Sora and the others were dealing with other mercenaries getting on their way, he brutally slashed a few, while proceeding to take out some more with the power of his Oblivion keyblade fighting alongside his classmates.

Dorothea casted the thunder spell to deal with more mercenaries, Ashe shot few arrows towards few more of them coming from the west.

Byleth and Sora dealt with the toughest mercenaries who tried to hurt the others making a duo slash to kill them.

"Nice one, Sora!" she praised his student.

"You too, Byleth!" he replied in the same tone.

"Good job everyone." Edelgard congratulated his whole team for taking down all the remaining mercenaries.

But their victory was short-lived because more mercenaries appeared from everywhere.

"What the…? More mercenaries!?" Sora said in disbelief and annoyance. "Can't these guys just stop?!"

"I'd love that these guys would just go!" Caspar stated his annoyance like everyone else.

"This… can't be the place… Can it?" said one of mercenaries from the afar.

"More visitors already? Allow us to offer you a premature burial." Constance looked excited to take more people down.

"You fucking brats. Outta the way!" the mercenary snarled at the gang in a threating voice.

"Here they come!" Byleth told her students to get ready to attack.

The mercenaries charged at the Black Eagles, however, they were soon subdued by Byleth and her students with ease.

Sora and Edelgard threw their respective weapons towards two of the mercenaries left to take them down.

"Nice shot." Said the future empress making high five with her partner.

"We make a good team, right?" Sora replied in the same manner.

"Yeah, right." Edelgard affirmed his words, they had a good chemistry not only with each other, but with Byleth and Dorothea.

However, for their dismay, more mercenaries appeared from nowhere to grind their gears.

"All right, where's the treasure? I've had it with these Abyssians!" a female mercenary interrogated them to no avail, but she didn't care.

"What the hell is going on?!" said Dorothea visibly annoyed.

"This is what we want to know!" Sora replied.

"Jeez, will it ever end? I love a good brawl, but I'm sick of looking at these idiots." Balthus expressed his dismay.

Everyone else nodded their heads agreeing with him, they all were sick of dealing one mercenary and another, this needed to end right now.

So what they did was to go all-out without holding back and strike every last one of the mercenaries.

Sora was joined by Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea on his crusade of taking out few mercenaries while Caspar, Ferdinand, Ashe, Linhardt, Hubert and Petra dealt with the others.

On the other hand, Yuri and his team destroyed the rest of the incoming mercenaries with ease. It seemed that no more mercenaries would come in, however, as they had anticipated earlier, the said dark creatures appeared in front of everybody.

"Those are…" Edelgard knew exactly who those creatures were. "These are the creatures that Dimitri, Claude and I tried to deal with long time ago!"

"The heartless… What on earth are they doing here?" Sora coincided with his classmate.

"I dunno… but I'm certain that they made friends with those mercenaries." The white-haired girl assumed their actions. "But, I'm not sure if I will be able to take this dark creature down…"

"I know you will, Edelgard." Sora advised her to not be negative. "You just have to believe in yourself, if you could take any mercenary out, then you will defeat the heartless."

Edelgard was taken aback by his words of courage, it was like Sora was trying to help her melt down her icy heart, his sole influence was like making her brush off few restraints she had before meeting him, not even Hubert had the way of trying to change her like Sora had.

Edelgard came to remember the moment when she unsuccessfully slashed one of the heartless in the last night during her escape from the thieves. There was no time to hesitate so Edelgard got her axe ready and prepared herself to strike down one of the heartless, knowing that the outcome could be the same.

"Okay, he goes nothing…" she whispered to herself before charging at one of the heartless and giving one double slash at it.

She had expected to have the same outcome, but to her surprise, Edelgard did truly slay the heartless as Sora had predicted. Was this a miracle? Or is it because she believed in Sora's words?

"Did I…? Did I just kill this thing?" she expressed with her eyes wide open.

This motivated her to continue fighting more heartless alongside her classmates, Dorothea also experienced the same thing by electrocuting few more.

"Did you take them out, huh?" the brown-haired girl asked with enthusiasm.

"I did, never thought I'd come to slay one of the heartless." Edelgard replied with a smile at her face, written in confidence. "Come on, let's settle this quick."

Meanwhile, Constance had trouble dealing with few dark creatures despite using her magic, it wasn't until Sora came to the rescue and casted the Reflega spell, a field of energy that surrounded the two and pushed the approaching heartless out of the way.

"Thank you, I was having problems with those monstrous things." She thanked him for aiding her.

"It would be wise if we attacked together." Sora said putting himself in attacking stance.

"Yeah, I guess it won't go bad." Constance agreed with him, willing to fight alongside his partner.

The two charged at the three big and fat heartless, Constance summoned the pointy ice shards on one of the fat heartless and lifted it to the midair.

Sora leapt onto its back and entered in Double Form to take down the heartless with a bunch of combo sword slashes and shot few light rays to eliminate the dark creature in the process.

"Whoa! Such magnificence!" Constance praised his performance on defeating the heartless.

"I have an idea." Sora replied crafting a plan to take the other heartless out. "Wait for my signal."

The girl nodded with her head to wait for Sora to give her the signal, while Sora in a blink of the eye got onto the dark fat creature's back and used the Ars Arcanium skill to land a lot of strong slashes across its back and stun it.

"Freeze!" Sora casted an ice spell: the Blizzaga, onto the heartless and successfully froze it. "Constance, now!"

She didn't hesitate a second in summoning the icy shards from the ground and tear the frozen heartless in pieces.

"Aaahahaha! Now that's a teamwork!" Constance laughed in euphoria after taking out the creature. ***Insert Japanese Constance laughs***

Edelgard helped the others to take down the rest of the heartless and Byleth was also surprised to have slayed few more of them, and like the future empress, this motivated her to encourage her students to take down the rest of the heartless.

It didn't take too long for everyone to destroy all the creatures and clear the underground, leaving all of them eventually worn out.

"That's the last of them…" Sora spoke panting due to their intense fight against those attackers.

"Honestly…! What a nuisance." Edelgard replied in the same emotion. "But, I'm somewhat glad that you told me to stand up for myself, Sora."

"See? All it takes is to have a strong heart within yourself." He said showing a smile on his face, blushing her slightly.

"Yo-You're right." She expressed a kind of shyness on her voice.

"Boss! That's the last of them!" one of rogues went to Yuri to bring him some news.

"Good. Finally. Thanks for all the help, everyone." He replied thanking everybody for their assistance.

But, one mercenary left entered in the scene. "Shit…! I ain't going down without a fight! I'm taking you with me, you son of a bitch!" he snarled in rage and a threating voice.

"I will not allow it." said a man appearing in front of the enraged mercenary.

"Aelfric, you're here! Well, shall we capture this fool?" Yuri spoke to him with a smirk on his face, glad for him appearing there.

Aelfric didn't think twice and he and Yuri locked the mercenary inside a cell then they returned and met with the others.

"Aelfric! How serendipitous that you have come to our aid!" Constance thanked him for his gesture.

"I am relieved that I wasn't too late. I do hope my presence proved useful." Said Aelfric in a calm voice.

"No doubt about it. We needed the backup." Spoke Balthus glad like his partners.

"So… you're Aelfric…" Byleth said while looking at him.

"Professor. I do believe this is the first time our paths have crossed, is it not?" replied Aelfric in a nice tone.

"I take that you must have heard all about us, isn't it?" Sora asked him with curiosity.

"Of course, I have heard all of you guys from Her Grace, the archbishop." Aelfric affirmed his words.

"Rhea…" Sora thought about that woman, but he didn't have time to look upset at front of everyone.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aelfric. The church has granted me custodianship of Abyss." He introduced himself to everyone.

"Nice to meet you." Byleth replied with a nice gesture.

"The pleasure is all mine." Aelfric said responding the same manner. "I am sure you have been already told about Abyss's unique situation. For varying reasons, all of the inhabitants here are unable to live a peaceful life on the surface."

"Why is it?" Dorothea asked the reason of this problem.

"People like Dagdans and Almyrans, who suffer undue persecution across Fodlan. The poor and the sick, who were forced into Abyss. Not to mention all the other unfortunate souls who ended up here. I believe it is my sacred duty to provide a place for those who have nowhere else to go." Aelfric state his reason to hold the custody of the basement.

"The poor and sick living in this sunless basement… How do they manage to have normal lives here?" Edelgard asked him regarding those people who live in the depths of the monastery.

"I honestly understand your concerns, guys. I dearly wish I could provide a better life for my flock." Aelfric said with a sunk face. "But Her Grace and most of the church consider the existence of Abyss to be… something of a nuisance."

"A nuisance? For what reason?" Ferdinand interrogated him.

"I'm afraid so… Those within the church who would see Abyss purged are swiftly growing in number." Aelfric explained the big issues the people in Abyss were going through.

"That's the church for you. They make a big deal out of helping the helpless… when it suits them." Hapi spoke with monotone tone, exposing the biggest exposure of the system itself.

"We can't just sit back and accept the way things are. We've gotta fight the system." Balthus stated his disdain for the church's evil system. "Sure, I'm here to hide from literally countless bounty hunters, but I'm not the one in need. You're in a bad way too, Hapi. We can't just let the church walk all over us."

"Too true. For the sake of all who dwell in Abyss, we must help dear Aelfric to turn the tide." Constance agreed with his words showing her willingness to aid the man.

"I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Your fervent support is all the reward I could ask for." said Aelfric before turning to Byleth. "As for you, Professor, I must beg a favor of you."

"What's the favor?" she asked him.

"The Ashen Wolves are a house in name alone. They are eager students with no teacher to guide them…" Aelfric stated his request. "If you could find it in your heart to take them under your wing, I would be most grateful."

That statement took Byleth aback, she already had picked the Black Eagles house long time ago alongside Sora, now with the Ashen Wolves involved, the class would get bigger than she thought.

Would she handle that? Well, it depended on her if she was more than willing to guide them.

"If my schedule allows it." Byleth accepted the man's request, not before telling him that if she had some free time.

"Naturally, your official duties take precedence, so you need only help out when your schedule allows." Aelfric understood her words.

"Hold on, Aelfric. Where's this nonsense coming from." Yuri questioned him in the same state as the teacher.

"Yeah! We have no need of a professor when we have you." Constance seconded stating her reason to try to reject Byleth as their new professor.

"Dear flock, I am a mere guardian. I can protect you but I cannot enrich your minds." Aelfric made them see that he was not a suitable man to be their teacher. "Though I call this a gathering an academy house, I have long lamented that it isn't truly so. Now, I am blessed with the opportunity to correct this. The professor who stands before you has garnered a great deal of acclaim on the surface, and so this guy right here also has gained his own merit as a swordsman as well. A most trustworthy and esteemed teacher, to say the least. What's more, I happened to be acquainted with the father of this fine individual."

"Mister Jeralt?" Sora asked the question surprised of his statement.

"How did you know my father?" Byleth seconded in the same state, it seemed that he and his dad knew each other long time ago.

"I was born and raised in Garreg Mach, so I often had the opportunity to spend some time with him." Aelfric explained the way the two met long time ago. "Your mother, as well… She was a cherished friend of mine. I was even present for their wedding."

"I didn't know you had a mother, Byleth." Said Sora in surprise.

"Me neither… I never knew her to be honest." Byleth replied in the same tone after finding out her relationship with her mother.

"Well, with parents like yours, teacher, I have no doubt that you possess the kindness and patience necessary to guide these students." Aelfric remarked her qualities that make her a unique and indicated person to teach the Ashen Wolves.

"But…" Constance tried to protest but no words came out.

"It will be okay. It's not like we're strangers anymore." Yuri was optimist about having Byleth as their teacher from now on. "Say, Aelfric… Don't you need to care of these thieves?"

"Ah, right you are. Please, excuse me." He replied remembering his duty, not before telling the teacher something else. "Oh, and one more thing, Professor… If ever you would like to hear more about your parents, I would be delighted to share my memories with you."

Byleth was filled with a lot of questions regarding her mother's life, given that she was raised by Jeralt himself without meeting her beside learning how to wield a sword and fight in battlefield.

This incited her to go to where Aelfric was to speak with him.

**END OF CHAPTER 20 **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**That's right, Aelfric said that Byleth had a mother and surprised everyone. What kind of secrets lie in the depths of the monastery. What challenges await our heroes to face? We'll find out in the next chapter.**


	22. Retrieve the Chalice Pt 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**FabledLife: Yep, Sora's gonna make use of other keyblades' formchanges and more in future chapters.**

**RedRat8: Indeed, Sora is not gonna get in the middle of Byleth's personal matters about her family. **

**CHAPTER 21 – RETRIEVE THE CHALICE 1**

**/**

**ABYSSIAN CLASSROOM **

After hearing Aelfric tell her the unknown story of her mother, Byleth was filled with lots of questions inside her mind and felt the necessity of find it out by herself, so she went to look for the man around the basement until finding a place where Aelfric was standing, it was a classroom.

"Hey, Aelfric." Byleth greeted him.

"Ah, Professor. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he replied back in nice tone besides asking her the reason to be there.

"I would like to hear more about my parents." She stated her motives to be there, wanting to find out more about them.

"Oh, yes, of course you do. I will gladly tell you all that I know." Aelfric said willing to spill the information. "Where to begin… if you have something in particular in mind, please ask and I shall answer as best as I can."

"Okay…" Byleth thought for a second before making him a request. "Can you tell me what my mother was like?"

"Kind. And wise. I would often see her in the library, her nose was always buried in a book." Aelfric began.

"Also… What was my father back then?" she interrogated him.

"Jeralt, your father, was… very much then as he is now. His knights would have done just about anything for him." The man mentioned her. "Whenever he had time to spare, he would instruct the children of the monastery in combat and tactics."

"Wow, this is how I learned to fight and make up strategies." Byleth remarked the way she was raised by her father.

"Just like those wide-eyed youngsters, your mother and I made a hero of him in our minds." Aelfric continued. "When I learned that Jeralt and Sitri were to be married, I was quite surprised. Back then, Jeralt was something of a mentor for me. As for Sitri… She found it difficult to express her emotions."

"So… my mother had difficulties to express her emotions… just like I have." Byleth said with a curious tone.

"Yeah, it was only when she was gazing at Jeralt that I ever saw her smile… a smile that rivaled the very sun." Aelfric closed her eyes remembering her with a smile. "His tale of the outside world must have seemed like a lifetime for one as frail and guarded as she."

"Was my mother frail?" Byleth asked him attentive.

"Indeed. She lacked strength to travel beyond the monastery." Aelfric affirmed her question explained the reason for it. "The only souls she ever spoke with were a select few within the monastery walls. I can picture it now, the stories he told her… His striking words and his boisterous laugh."

"So my father had a great time with her." Byleth smiled listening.

"Listening to him must have given her a great deal of hope." The black-haired man said with a sad smile. "As for me, I could have never become like Jeralt, as much as wished for it."

"You wanted to be like him?" the professor asked him looking at him with curiosity.

"Oh, I suppose I did. He would tell stories from a century ago as though he had lived them himself." Aelfric replied. "No matter how fervently one studies the stories of old, that is not an easy task. Professor, you traveled with Jeralt before coming here. You must have seen a great many things, yes?"

"Indeed…?" Byleth started to feel uncomfortable with her personal questions.

"Forgive me for overstepping, but do you not regret forgoing your travels to take up residence here?" Aelfric apologized for his actions besides asking her if she loved working in the monastery.

"I love working here, so I have no regrets." She replied expressing enjoyment with her occupation, even though she had very deep and personal reasons for that, and it wasn't because Rhea requested her services. It was more than that.

"Heh heh, well then! I suppose I have no choice but to assist you as best as I can." Aelfric expressed his willingness to help her. "To shape young minds must afford you a unique perspective on the world. I am certain my unsolicited advice is nothing but nuisance, but please hear me out… it is my hope that you will live a full life-experiencing the world, fostering strong relationships with people."

"Fostering strong relationships…" Byleth was taken aback by his words thinking about the people she related to, but then she came to think about her students, especially Sora, Edelgard and Dorothea.

"Do so for dear Sitri, whose wish to experience such things shall regretfully never be granted." Aelfric begged her to fulfill her mother's wish.

"That's why you asked to teach the Ashen Wolves?" Byleth began to understand the reason of his request to aid Yuri and the others.

"Yes. You are right. It is my own stubborn notion. One that her Grace will likely not think kindly of." Aelfric affirmed leading her to understand that he needed her to guide the Ashen Wolves. "Beyond my personal motive, I believe that alone can guide my flock to even greater heights. And perhaps you will learn from them as well. Ah, but I have taken enough of your precious time. Know that I am here for you, always."

**/**

Meanwhile, Sora was getting along with Constance while walking around the Abyss basement, given on how curious she was for his mastery of magic combat, and change of keyblades alike.

"So, you were to become a keyblade master or something?" she asked him looking curious.

"Yeah, I was about to until the Organization XIII stepped in the middle and screw up everything, taking me with them and almost possessing me as their next vessel, and because of that, I lost most of my power and Riku rescued me, that's the reason I failed the Mark of Mastery exam." Sora mentioned the problem he went through because of these guys.

"My god… Such bad guys ruining everything… but, despite not earning a title like this, I see you as a keyblade master on your own right, you managed to take down not only lots of mercenaries with such mastery, but those dark creatures that were scattered across the underground." The girl replied with disgust towards the Organization XIII guys besides praising him for being a capable man of dealing with stronger men. "Even Balthus is proud of you due to your qualities as a true warrior."

"A true warrior?" Sora asked amused.

"Of course, Sora! I saw the way you transformed into a lot of things and how fast you are to deal with every opponent you see." Constance said with an amused smile on her face. "I can see why your house is a lot stronger compared to the others. Aaaahahaha!"

"Well… You gotta credit Byleth for that, she has taught us a lot of lessons about the combats and tactics, she's really strict with her works, but she's fun to interact with, an excellent teacher." Sora laughed between his teeth.

"I see… this is why you guys are so capable of dealing with many foes, which leads me to believe that the Black Eagles could hold the reputation as the most feared house, just saying." Constance gave an opinion regarding his house's status.

"Well, it could be because of my keyblade powers, let's say that not only I have greatly been learning a lot of things thanks to Byleth's guidance, but most of my classmates too." he commented understanding her words.

"If you don't mind, I'd love to join your class so we could be battle partners for an amusement." Constance teased him.

"That would be a great idea! I think I should let Byleth know about this." Sora replied with excitement.

"_I finally did it!" _Constance thought with an immense happiness written on her face. "Anyway, let's go see Aelfric and the others if he gained some information about those bandits."

"Right." Sora finalized heading to the said place.

**[SUPPORT BETWEEN SORA AND CONSTANCE HAS REACHED LEVEL C]**

**/**

**ABYSSIAN CLASSROOM**

Sora and Constance headed to the classroom meeting with Byleth alongside the two teams and Aelfric to see if they had some clues about that individual who would lurk around the basement.

"Pray tell, Yuri. Did those foul bandits whom we bested at the arena confess anything?" Constance asked him if they had spilled some important information.

"Not a ward. And they wouldn't say names. I got the feeling they didn't know much themselves." He replied with negativity about figuring out the problem, but he was certain of something. "However, one thing is clear. Whoever hire them is after something here in Abyss."

"Yeah, that's gotta be it. They must have been on a treasure hunt or something." Balthus assumed their actions.

"Surely." Caspar coincided with him. "I think they want to steal something from here."

"A treasure hunter here? I don't get it. What is there to find these dingy tunnels?" Hapi wasn't quite catching up.

"Aelfric, was it?" Linhardt spoke with monotone voice. "Looks like this is a ringing bell for you."

"Well, something does come to mind, but the notion is preposterous at best." Said the man.

"I can assume that sometimes, people are closer to the truth than we think…" Edelgard was thoughtful regarding the subject.

"Any lead will do, so long as it helps determine our next course of action. Please go on." Hubert asked for any strategy to take.

"As you wish, though again, it is quite far-fetched. You see, there's longstanding legend here." Aelfric told them an important tale. "It is said that deep underground, below even Abyss, is a place called the Chasm of the Bound wherein lies the Chalice of Beginnings.

"Chalice of Beginnings?" Byleth was filled with curiosity about that mysterious object.

"I've never heard of it, but chances are it's some kind of sacred artifact belonging to the church." Linhardt found this subject interesting.

"I once happened upon an old document that mentioned a ritual called the Rite of Rising." Aelfric continued telling more important things. "The text was incomplete, so I was unable to achieve a full understanding of the topic. I cannot even guarantee the authenticity of what I read. But it stated that the Chalice of Beginnings is a sacred object crafted by order of Saint Seiros herself."

"By the Saint Seiros?" Byleth asked him.

"Yeah, Saint Seiros apparently used the artifact to carry out the Rite of Rising, along with the Four Apostles." Aelfric affirmed her question telling the story.

"What is the Rite of Rising?" Sora interrogated the man.

"It is a ritual that is believed to have the power to resurrect a life that was lost." Aelfric explained him the details. "However, the ritual failed… The four Apostles bound the chalice so that it would never fall into a mortal's hands."

"The Rite of Rising, huh?" said Dorothea intrigued by the statement.

"Ah, yes, the chalice of legend! My father mentioned it to me long time ago." Constance began. "A secret treasure of the church… a chalice powerful enough to resurrect the dead… Exhilarating, no?"

"Quite. It's not a small wonder that people are after it." Edelgard agreed with her, that object was so mysterious that anyone would kill to get. "Even so, we still don't have much to go on. We must gather more information about this legend at once."

"Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. I will do all I can to track down more clues within the monastery." Aelfric was ready to seek more crucial information. "Although, Garreg Mach's library is so… well curated, I doubt any further records will be found."

"Wondrous! We shall do all that we can as well." Constance accepted the request among the others.

**/**

**HALF HOUR LATER…**

"The answer is no. I will not allow it. It's far too dangerous." The man wasn't willing to give them permission.

While Byleth was out exploring the Abyss, Sora and the gang tried to persuade Aelfric to let them go down deeper place under Abyss, but the man wasn't willing to cease.

"But, if we can determine its origin, we may eliminate the very danger that vexes you!" the girl complained about his negativity to let them get in a very dangerous situation, according to him.

"You already know this, but there are plenty of folks who down here who can't defend themselves." Balthus agreed with his friend, they weren't willing to just sit down and do nothing to protect the people. "If these attacks keep up, eventually they'll find themselves in harm's way."

"Yes, I am aware. However, for the time being, you must promise to refrain from acting recklessly." Aelfric reiterated them on not getting involved on his 'research'. "My dear flock has suffered enough as it is. You needn't take any further risks."

With that, Aelfric left the students to go investigate to find more clues, or this is what everybody thought, but Sora felt that something was up with this man. Why Aelfric would not let them go down deeper to the underground? What was the reason for him to go alone?

"Surprisingly overbearing, isn't he? He must really care about you guys." Said Dorothea touched by his words.

"Most certainly. Yet if we fail to nip this problem in the bud… I shudder to think will transpire." Constance spoke having her face written in concern.

Everything seemed to be lost when…

"You need something, guys?" a woman's voice came to the room, surprising everyone.

"Aha, it's you! In the nick of time, as it were!" Constance looked cheered up after seeing the professor appear. "Come, let us venture into the deep, deep underground. The chalice of legend awaits!"

"Byleth, we need to go to the said place that Aelfric mentioned." Sora seconded telling her to go there.

"Are we going to underground?" the professor asked with surprise.

"But of course! Deeper and deeper still beneath the monastery, to the Chasm of the Bound." Constance replied expressing her wishes to get there.

"Coco… haven't you heard what Elfie said?" Hapi questioned her showing concern about the consequences they all would face later.

"I surely did, but we must read between the lines." Constance justified her desires to disobey Aelfric's warnings. "Aelfric wants a solution as badly as we do. And so, we shall seek out the Chalice of Beginnings and represent it to the church! If our enemies desire the object, this should halt all future attacks on Abyss! Brilliant, right?"

"I dunno Constance, the chalice is under some kind of strong and unique protection from the thieves, remember what Aelfric had said earlier." Edelgard considered this mission as risky and asked her to think about it very well. "Even if we find this thing, we cannot just take it and run, we have to find a way to break this seal."

"Ah, but that is simplicity itself! We shall ascertain whether it is still bound, and then… we shall release it!" the blonde girl retorted trying to convince everyone.

"But where is this chasm, anyway? I've never even heard of the place, much less seen it." Balthus recognized not knowing the place at all.

"As luck would have it, I have discovered another secret passage! It appears to go deeper underground." Constance came up with a plan to head to the said zone without Aelfric noticing. "According to my superior instincts, it undoubtedly leads to the Chasm of the Bound!"

"Wow, I suppose it's worth a look." Yuri praised her for figuring the said passage. "I don't care about finding some old cup, but if it could help us protect Abyss, I'll support the cause."

"You guys don't have anything else to do at present, do you?" Constance requested their help to retrieve the chalice. "You'll assist us, right?"

"We will. Me and my students have a week off." Byleth accepted her request.

"I don't have anything scheduled before my next nap, so I guess that's fine. Edelgard doesn't look too thrilled, though…" Linhardt replied with a dryed voice.

"Aaaahahaha! Excellent! It's decided. We leave at once, fellas." Constance was pleased with their positive answer.

And with that, the gang set out to the deepest part of Abyss to get the Chalice of Beginnings.

**/**

**THE DEPTHS**

The Black Eagles and Ashen Wolves had been walking for a very long time and some of them were feeling tired.

"Feeling pretty lost right now." Linhardt said seeming worn off. "How long have we walking? Maybe a full week?"

"A week? Come on. It's been a few hours at most." Hapi corrected him.

"Exaggerations aside, if this takes much longer, I'm concerned about our lack of food and water." Edelgard complained feeling tired like everyone else.

"You tell me, my feet are killing me." Sora seconded feeling that pain and sitting down for a while.

"Mine too Sora, we've been walking a lot that my feet have messed up." Caspar whined for the same reason as his classmate.

"She's got a point, how about we go a bit farther, and if we don't find anything, we turn back?" Ferdinand suggested to keep forward as they could.

"Constance… I find it curious how fast you became interested on the chalice. Care to explain?" Dorothea asked her to in that state.

"Oh… I… No. Why would I be interested on a silly little legend… for some supposed ulterior motive? Ahaha…" Constance stuttered getting nervous.

"Ha, you want the esteem. You think this will convince the church to restore your fallen house." Yuri reproached her for that attitude of hers.

"Uh?! How could you possible know that?! Have you been snooping within the confines of my very mind?!" she replied feeling that her cover had been blown.

"_I shall restore House Nuvelle to its former glory at all costs! _Haha! It's practically your catchphrase." Yuri made fun of her in an arrogant tone.

"Aha! Just as I suspected. Constance is the former lady of the House Nuvelle." Linhardt said after finding out her status.

"You know the House Nuvelle, Linhardt?" Byleth asked him surprised by his student's words.

"In a sense, Byleth." He replied with a nod with his head. "Until just few years ago, it was a house of viscounts in the west of the Empire."

"House Nuvelle lost its status five years ago, as a result of their part in the war." Edelgard mentioned an important fact about the said house's demise.

"You speak as though it has nothing to do with you." Constance was upset after hearing her house's tragic story, she didn't want to hear it at all.

"I fear all I can do is to ask forgiveness in place of my father." The future empress tried to comfort an already upset Constance. "If doing so will comfort you in any way, then please accept my-."

"Save your breath." Constance interrupted her. "That will not be necessary. There's only one thing that I desire. For the sake of my parents… who fell courageously and selfishly in defense of the Empire… For them, I shall restore our status, revive House Nuvelle, and return it to its former glory! All I do, even spending each day advancing my magical prowess, is to that end."

"And in reward for all that hard work, you were forced to live underground, Coco." Hapi mentioned the consequences of her actions that lead her to live in Abyss. "Life's cruel. It's like you took a shortcut back to the starting line. Or maybe you're just unlucky, buddy."

"What the heck are you sayin'?" Constance questioned her getting upset by her words. "I never intended to share… that side with you…"

The girls were about to bicker when Balthus saw something that got their attention.

"Look at that! It's a good thing that we didn't turn back." He let them know after just noticing that thing. "That looks mighty chasm-like if you ask me."

"For real?!" Sora stood up to see if he was telling the truth.

"Yeah, looks like we found it." Balthus affirmed his words.

In effect, they finally had found a light at the end of the tunnel, and everyone set a foot outside of the Abyss.

**/**

**UNDERNEATH GARREG MACH. - DAYTIME**

Sora and everyone else exited the Abyss exposing themselves to the sunlight, however, none of the Garreg Mach people could see them, the reason is… is that they all were way underneath the monastery, they never had set a foot on this until now.

"Say… are we beneath the bridge at the monastery?" said Sora amazed at the place he was. "It's incredible!"

"Wow! I've never thought that I'd be starin' up at that bridge we've crossed a thousand of times from a way, way down below, dude!" Caspar replied in the same energy as him.

"Right? We could build a hideout if you want." Dorothea whispered at Sora's ear in a teasing voice, blushing him in the process.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Yuri asked the blonde girl if she was right.

"It is. I think. I believe. I… hope?" Constance tried to affirm him, however, she was not hanging out with the others but hiding herself under the tree's shade, something that worried them.

"Constance, why are you hiding in the shade?" Edelgard interrogated her. "Aren't you the who insisted that we find the chalice?"

"Oh, screw it! Okay! If you insist that I join you, the I shall." She replied with a notorious annoyance before joining the team. "See?! Satisfied?!"

But, something was wrong with Constance… as soon as she exposed herself to the sunlight, her flattering attitude disappeared and changed into a more humble and anxious one, having her face cast in shadow.

"Constance? Are you okay?" Sora asked her out of concern.

"Oh my. I was quite rude just now… Please accept my humble apologies for treating you so foully." Constance apologized with now humble and saddened voice, something that puzzled everybody. "I presumed too much to stand beside such noble paragons. Allow me to dig a hole to bury myself in…"

"Ugh… No matter how underground we are, sunlight is still sunlight. Poor Constance." Balthus was worried about her friend.

"What's happening to her?" the keyblade wielder asked about her state.

"She's not being herself." Byleth seconded feeling puzzled for her strange attitude.

"This is what Coco's like in the sun. That's why she lives underground." Hapi explained the girl's true personality when exposed to the sunlight.

"I fear I cannot guarantee that this is the Chasm of the Bound. I have almost surely wasted out time." Constance said fearing that they made a bad move recklessly.

"Enough with the self-doubt, yeah?" Balthus told her to stop blaming herself for anything. "Just put one foot in front of the other. We'll have your back in the shadows before you know it."

"Come on, Coco. Cheer up, we need you." Hapi encouraged her to show her cheerful side, to no avail.

"And now I have forced you in a state of pity. I feel so very worthless." Constance kept discouraging herself, something that Sora didn't like to hear, and this reminded him those words that he himself said long time ago.

"I admit it, I have never seen anything quite like this before." Said Dorothea looking at her curious. "Is there nothing we can do to help her?"

"Hey." He said stepping forward putting himself in front of her. "Listen, you don't believe that, I know you don't."

"What?" Constance looked surprised by the boy's words.

"I know you are not used to this sunlight, alright? But you shouldn't be pitying yourself… You have done a lot of great things when you are in streak and all." Sora tried to cheer her up giving some kind of speech. "Balthus already said that we got you back, okay? So as long as you stick with us, you're gonna be fine."

"Sora, keep Constance moving, if we don't start searching, we'll never find that damn chalice." Balthus indicated him to stay with her for a while.

"Okay, let's go, Constance, come on." He replied while still trying to make her cheer up.

"I must ask you to cease. You shall soil your hands upon my filthy back. No soap could possibly-huh?" Constance tried to tell them to stop but she then sensed a strange energy getting closer. "This feeling… I sense a magic in the air. There is something just ahead. The binding spell, perhaps…"

"I don't feel anything at all…" Linhardt replied oppositely but then he realized that she was right. "Wait a second, actually, I hear something. Something big. And it's moving."

Suddenly, there was a very loud sound coming from the entrance to the place where the chalice was being hold inside.

"Perhaps there is something in place that is guarding the chalice." Edelgard was receptive after understanding the situation.

Effectively, as Edelgard had warned them, a big golem monster with a Crest of Seiros appeared from the front making everyone let out a gasp.

"What the hell?! This big monster is coming to us!" Caspar freaked out after seeing the golem.

"What is that thing?!" Ferdinand seconded in shock.

"I don't have the slightest idea what's going on, but I know it doesn't bode well." Yuri admitted not figuring out that monster.

"I dunno. Could be fun. It's been a while since I've met an enemy that could put a good fight!" Balthus said with a smirk on his face, excited to fight this big thing. "Hey you! Meet your master, pal! I'm gonna pummel you into my own personal shield!"

This resulted in our heroes being gravely compromised, there were not only three golems approaching, but a certain number of the heartless, including the giant ones. That put them all in risk and they had to find the chalice before it was too late.

**END OF CHAPTER 21**


	23. Retrieve the Chalice Pt 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroak: I think that Sitri is gonna talk to Byleth either way, whether be in dreams, via spirit, or even a heart-to-heart at some point.**

**FabledLife: Well, Sora received every girl's glare when he first enrolled in the academy which made him shy and all, but as he is getting used to this new school life, he won't follow a typical embarrassed male anime guy cliché anymore. **

**RedRat8: Indeed, Byleth has always had a part of her mother.**

**CHAPTER 22 – RETRIEVE THE CHALICE 2**

**/**

**UNDERNEATH THE GARREG MACH BRIDGE – Daytime**

Sora and the others exited the Abyss to retrieve the Chalice of Beginnings, but the things got complicated once some golems, one of them had golden themes and the Crest of Seiros on its armor appeared in front of them with the intentions of killing them all.

And not only that, a good certain number of heartless appeared alongside the golems to try to block their way.

The Black Eagles and the Ashen Wolves had to figure way to find the Chalice besides dealing with the toughest enemies they had encountered.

"What's the deal? No matter how many we squash, more just take their place." Said Balthus surprised by the presence of those monsters.

"Hmm… if those things were created to protect the chalice, then there must be a way to deactivate them." Linhardt replied letting out a possible way to take them down for good.

"If I presume to offer my opinion, the statues may warrant scrutiny." Constance mentioned the team an important clue.

The clue was in these three lock statues scattered across the place, although shielded by the golems and heartless along the way.

"Hmm, there must be a way to activate those things. I bet they require some type of key." Hapi understood her friend's important clue.

"You who befoul this sacred place-leave now or perish!" the golden golem, Marcelle threatened the gang in a creepy voice.

"Sacred place?" Sora spoke suspecting of the place.

"Sounds like the Chasm of the Bound, all right." Balthus seconded confirming his words.

"I think I figured out where that said key was, that thing over there is carrying it around." Edelgard pointed out at the golden golem.

"I'll grab it." Sora said with determination, volunteering himself to go get the key.

"You gonna need some cover, Sora." Byleth said stepping forward alongside him. "Those guys aren't really nice."

"Yeah, they don't play around when they are like this." Dorothea replied doing the same.

"Agreed, let us give you a hand when you deal with this golem at front." Edelgard stated her intentions to help him.

"Girls… Okay, give me cover when I deal with this thing." Sora spoke amazed by the girls' determination to aid him.

"Don't forget about us, Sora, seems that you are really acquitted with the women." Caspar didn't want to stay behind as he teased him.

"You'll need someone to watch over this place." Ashe replied putting his bow ready.

"Thanks, guys." Sora thanked them for their support. "Let's go!"

With those words, Sora and the girls headed to where the golden golem was standing, as they had expected some common golems and few heartless tried to surround them but Sora summoned a keyblade that neither was his usual kingdom key, oblivion nor oathkeeper.

It was that one he obtained when traveling through the oceans with his ally and friend pirate: Jack Sparrow, the Wheel of Fate. The keyblade had a pirate ship-like shape, based on the black pearl he once rode. It wasn't as powerful as the others but quite enough to deal with toughest enemies like these.

Sora and Byleth gave the golems a big beatdown using their respective weapons' powers, after slashing one of the golems, his keyblade went through a formchange, transforming itself into Highwind, a halberd weapon that Sora would use to thrust any enemy in a long range.

"Sora! What is that halberd?" Byleth asked him amazed looking at his weapon. "Where is your keyblade?"

"This is my keyblade." Sora pointed out explaining her. "I can switch keyblades whenever necessary, and some do change forms like this one."

"Wow… You never cease to amaze us, do you?" Byleth understood. "Anyway, let's go get the key."

By the time Sora and the girls finished with the remaining golems and heartless, they ran into the golden, bigger and intimidating golem: Marcelle.

"It's so big." Dorothea said having her mouth open.

"Yeah… I think he won't go easy on us." Edelgard agreed with her.

"We must obtain the key, guys." Byleth indicated the girls to not get discouraged. "Sora, have you faced any monster of this size?"

"I have, and this will not be an exception." He replied with determination.

"All right, the girls and I will distract him, you will attack the golem from behind, got it?" she indicated her student the actions to take.

"Got it." Sora understood her instructions to carry out.

Byleth and the girls distracted the golem by using their respective special attacks while Sora leapt way up to the back of the golden golem to make a number of slashes before finishing it with a brutal thrust, piercing the backbone.

At this precise second, the keyblade went through another formchange gaining a dark pole had a tied a tattered red flag bearing a steering wheel emblem. This formchange was the Storm Flag.

Sora went to do a huge number of strong brutal combo while undergoing flowmotion around the golem's body.

"This is it!" Edelgard let out a grunt while slashing the golem across one leg.

Sora didn't waste that chance to plant the flag into the ground and spawn watery portal. Subsequently, aquatic copies of tentacles emerged from the portal and that's how they slayed the golden golem. However, Sora got wet due to the finisher's powers, but not only he, but Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea were covered in water as well, having their uniforms wet.

"So-Sora! What did you do?! Look at us!" Edelgard whined at him having her face blushed.

"Sorry!" Sora apologized laughing between his teeth.

"Thi-This isn't funny, you jerk!" the girl tried to sound as stern as she could but that made him laugh more.

"It was an accident, Edelgard!" Sora replied trying to hold his laugh back, annoying the girl in the process.

"You idiot..." Edelgard tried to scold him when they all noticed something brilliant on the floor. "Wait, isn't this…?"

**[Sora obtained the Spellbreak Key]**

"This must be the key!" Sora grabbed the key form the ground to take a look at it.

"Yeah, it seems so." Said Byleth doing the same. "I think this will work on any of these statues."

"We got the key, guys!" Dorothea let everyone else know.

"Huh… There's clearly something special about this key. Better keep it safe." Yuri commented advising them to not let the key slip off their hands.

"Will do!" Edelgard replied determined to shut down the golems. "Let's go!"

Sora and the girls fought their way to the statues and unlock it either one of them.

"Let's see…" he said before placing the key and pulling the lever.

But, upon pulling the lever, another golem spawned at the front of them for their dismay.

"What?!" Sora said in disbelief.

"It's a trap." Edelgard seconded realizing that they chose a wrong statues.

"We have to find the correct statue." Byleth advised them to look for the indicated statues that would shut down the golems. "Edelgard, go with Sora, Dorothea and I will provide you cover."

The two nodded and headed to the next statue while Byleth and Dorothea went to fight the golems. Sora proceeded to put the statue to the test, but, just like the first time, the statue was proved to be the incorrect one and respawned more golems.

"No way!" Sora snarled after choosing the wrong lever. "How can this happen?!"

"I'd say the same, Sora. We better take those idiots out!" Edelgard suggested him to kill the golems together.

Sora switched the Wheel of Fate keyblade with Oblivion and entered in Double Form to take down one of the golems slashing in a rapid succession followed by light rays piercing its armor and body, and finally annihilating the golem in the process.

Edelgard meanwhile, used his axe to slash the other golem across its body and dodging the incoming punches and light lances. In a moment and other, she slid down the ground and gave a brutal slash on a foot to overthrow the golem in the process.

"Sora!" Edelgard called him. "Let's take this thing down!"

"Right!" he replied dashing towards the enemy.

They didn't waste the time in slashing the monster together until eventually destroying it completely, Byleth and Dorothea soon followed them until to the last status in hopes of not choosing the wrong one this time.

"Ready?" said Sora preparing himself for the outcome.

"Yes, do it, Sora." Byleth replied encouraging him to insert the key.

Everyone expected to have the same outcome as before, however, no golems respawned and the remaining ones vanished, clearing completely the area.

"Close call, but we did it. Our efforts paid off." Said Yuri congratulating each other for their efforts to contend the creatures.

Just as everything was going to be fine, when suddenly…

"There's something drawn on the rock over there. They look like Crests… Whoa! What's going on?" Hapi said sensing the ground shaking.

"What's going on?" Sora seconded feeling the same as the others.

"My Crest! Oh, but look at the stone. There's light streaming from it." Constance pointed out a cracked wall with a hole in the middle, along with four crests surrounding it.

"Look at that! There's something in the opening!" Sora pointed at the rock.

"That's…" said Constance while retrieving the Chalice and bringing it to the gang.

"Isn't that…?" Balthus asked looking at this thing.

"You would know best. It is beyond my ken whether that is the chalice. Curse my ignorance!" she replied in disbelief.

"Hey, just answer the question, will ya? Is it, or isn't it?" he told her to give the answer.

"That quaking earlier… Some kind of containment magic related to the Crests was in place here." Constance confirmed their suspects. "Whether intentionally or not, the chalice was released. I hesitate to suggest that those things were the cause. Oh, perhaps one of our Crests was the key to unbinding the chalice."

"Care to summarize it?" Hapi asked her to explain the situation.

"My apologies. I have caused you undue vexation by speaking so incomprehensibly." Constance apologized to everyone besides explaining the problem. "Were I to venture a tentative guess, I would say that this is, indeed, the Chalice of Beginnings."

That's right, the relic they took was no more nor less than the authentic Chalice of Beginnings, which everybody intended to get.

"You could have just said, 'This is it, all right!'" Balthus complained due to her tardiness.

"So this chalice is the real one." Sora said assuming her words.

"Forgotten Crests resembling those four Apostles, depicted on a seal rock wall." Linhardt spoke giving some important data. "Objects that resemble holy armaments and a chalice that gathers magic all on its own... I don't know of any other legends that cover all of that, so this must the chalice we're looking for."

"A thousand thank-yous for covering my own inadequacy with such a competent explanation." Constance thanked him for giving the flawless explanation.

"I'm still not used to hearing you speak in such manner." Edelgard said having a facepalm.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. If I have displeased you, please take my life as a small gesture of atonement." the blonde girl replied with such formality, asking to be taken out.

"I have never thought that Constance would speak like this." Sora made a comment lifting an eyebrow, puzzled as well.

"Me neither, Sora. And Constance, I assure you, there's nothing to forgive." The future empress stated that she wasn't angry with her at all.

Suddenly, a loud thunder was heard alerting the whole gang.

"I think it is going to rain." said Hubert knowing what was next.

"We'd better head back to Abyss before the storm hit us." Yuri suggested to go back to their hideout.

The gang headed back to Abyss, but alas, Constance stayed behind standing still as the clouds rolled in.

"Ugh! It happened yet again. Why must my good intentions always…" she was scolding herself when a very loud mechanic sound reached her ears. "Huh? What was that sound?! It cannot be…"

Constance knew indeed that it was a golem's doings, so she ran as fast as she could to escape these creepy toys and meet with the others.

**END OF CHAPTER 23**


	24. The Big Troubles Begin

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**ShadowMario1994: I initially wanted to write the same harem story in the English version but some people didn't like it and I received some discouraging and disheartening messages so I had to make some changes. **

**The biggest reason that both Spanish and this version are different is because I researched the net and I found out that trying to literally translate everything is extremely difficult so I had to start from a scratch and write differently, which this resulted in two separate stories in terms of pairings as you say. Also, I dunno how many people will react if they see the same ending in the English story.**

**And yeah, I'll be back resuming the Spanish story when I reach the timeskip arc. **

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Constance is a fun character to play with, so yeah.**

**FabledLife: Certain worlds can have Sora magically switch clothes like when he went to the pirates of Caribbean world or even jack skellington's for example.**

**CHAPTER 23 – THE BIG TROUBLES BEGIN**

**/**

**PASSAGEWAY**

Constance ran as faster as she could to head to the passageway and meet with the others until she was worn off.

"Oh, my poor, abused legs! I have been remiss to neglect my lower… body exercise as of late…" she panted after running a lot.

"Don't give up… we're almost back to Abyss! What a damn mess we've gotten ourselves into…" Yuri said asking her to keep it up.

"We should give up. Just throw the chalice at the big one and be done with it. It doesn't seem like they're gonna ease off." Hapi gave an opposite suggestion, asking her to destroy the chalice at the golem. "If that doesn't work, I guess we're dead."

"Aaahahaha! I think not! I shall never surrender! I shall not die until I have achieved my glorious aim!" Constance was back into her usual flattering attitude stating that she wasn't willing to give up that easily.

"I can't believe that those things have been chasing us! I guess that picking up the chalice was a bad idea!" said Sora recognizing his mistake.

"For crying out loud… Those creepy toys must love a good chase. They won't let up!" Balthus spat in annoyance.

"Not to mention the enemies that look like phantoms, besides of those dark creatures." Yuri seconded. "Further measures to protect the chalice, I'm sure. Maybe Hapi's right, and this won't stop so long as we have the artifact."

"We can't lead them back to Abyss, or the people will be in danger!" Ashe said in concern about the people's safety.

"We have no choice, we have to fight them." Byleth advised them to defend the place.

"Agreed. But first, let's run just a bit farther. I know a good place to keep the enemy at bay." Yuri accepted her request.

"Oh yeah! The gates! They're so damn sturdy I nearly broke one of my priceless first on one once." Balthus mentioned them remembering that moment.

"You did what?! Punch one gate like a brute?! Ugh! Why must you always behave in such an infantile manner?" Constance scolded him.

"He probably thought that was the best way to test its sturdiness. He doesn't have bad intentions, he's just that dumb." Hapi explained his attitude with such brutal honesty.

"Listen, Balthus." Yuri warned him about the consequences of his acts. "If you broke the mechanism, I'm sacrificing you to the creepy doll."

As they expected, some golems along with the phantom soldiers and the heartless appeared across the passageway, they had to reach the Abyss as soon as possible to lose the enemies.

**[KINGDOM HEARTS II Final Mix BGM: Deep Anxiety]**

"The enemy's caught up to us. If we try to up against it, we're finished." Edelgard was aware of the big problem.

"That thing's worse than what we saw at the chasm. Looks strong enough to flatten me. Me, of all people!" Balthus expressed his wishes to start a brawl with the enemies.

However, a gate behind one of the golems was closed, gasping everybody.

"No, the gate! Even I won't be able to force it open." Said Sora in that state. "We gotta find a switch quickly!"

"This is bad… There's more where that came from too, let's go, now!" Yuri seconded asking everyone to move fast.

**[INFORMATION: Head to Abyss with everyone!]**

Everybody searched for a gate to cross but they all seemed too far away until they noticed something.

"Oh my. I believed this to be a shortcut, but the way seems closed." Constance let the others know the location.

"Eerrr… Who wants to do us a favor and pull the lever? Though you might get left behind." Hapi saw a lever aside of the gate.

"I'll do it, cover me guys." Byleth volunteered herself commanding her students.

"Alright! Guys let's give Byleth cover!" replied Sora indicating everyone else to shield her.

While they dealt with the heartless and the other phantom soldiers, Byleth ran quickly to the lever and pulled it.

Immediately, the gate was opened so the gang could get pass it.

"The gate is open, let's go!" Ferdinand called them to move up.

Byleth soon followed them through the gate while ignoring the enemies and then they noticed another gate blocking their way.

"That passage over there is blocked too. I believe the controls for it are on the other side at the far end." Balthus mentioned the next lever's location.

"I'll look for it!" said Sora ready to open the gate.

He ran towards the next lever to pull it and get the gate open. "The gate is open! Move!" Edelgard called them to get past the gate before it closed behind them.

"It really closed, didn't it? Good thing we made it through in time." Said Linhardt relieved for not being left behind.

"Don't stop, we have to keep moving. That was the first of these things, come on!" Yuri told them to not let their guard down.

As he had predicted, more enemies came in. They were some bandits invading the place, however, some of them were willing to face the phantom soldiers.

"Whoa! Just like the boss said. They came back!" one of the bandits spoke looking at the gang.

"Did you find the treasure-majig? Treasure thingy? Whatever it's called! Doesn't matter. Hand it over!" a second thief tried to order them.

"These bandits are discussing treasure… How much can they have surmised?" Constance said with intrigue.

"Damn it." Yuri muttered in deception.

Sora performed a Strike Raid to knock the thieves off and proceeded to open a door with the kingdom key to get pass the next gate along with everyone.

"Sora… Did you just open the door… with your keyblade?" Edelgard reacted with surprise just like everybody else. "Anyway, let's save this chit-chat for later, we gotta move."

As soon as they got through it, more thieves appeared in front to confront them.

"You're not getting away you idiots! Ya hear me? Hand it over!" a female thief warned them in a threating voice.

"Like we'd obey your orders!" Sora replied in a challenging tone. "You're not getting the chalice, you thieves!"

"This is getting annoying, let's defeat those guys and get the hell out of here!" Balthus advised them to engage the thieves.

"And get through the last gate, let's go!" Byleth nodded and commanded her students.

The whole team went to take on the thieves and took care of them with ease, Sora, Yuri, Byleth, Dorothea and Edelgard subdued the remaining ones and everybody got past the last gate.

"Heh. That takes care of that. And last but not least..." Said Yuri relied of getting to the safety.

**[END OF MUSIC]**

"Run though this gate, open that one, run through another one. Gezz…" Linhardt expressed his frustration of having to be in a hurry with everyone. "That's enough gates to last me a lifetime. I'm overdue for some shuteye…"

"All is well though! We've safely retrieved the Chalice of Beginnings. Aaahahaha!" said Constance satisfied with their successful, but dangerous mission.

"Well, that was awful. I'm never going back down there, that's for damn sure." Yuri looked stressed due to the big dangers that they had to go through.

"Ha! With things like that wandering around, you couldn't even if you wanted to." Balthus replied making him understand that he couldn't go back there for obvious reasons.

"It was a valuable learning experience." Byleth told them that it was an important lesson to learn.

"Aren't you optimistic. There were a few times I was sure we were done for." Said Yuri admiring her positive point of view.

"But we did survive, that's all it matters." Sora agreed with his teacher.

"Has Aelfric yet returned? We must present the chalice to the church at once!" Constance was enthusiastic about it

But, their relaxed moment was short-lived because two people appeared in front of the gang, their faces were telling them that it wasn't some good news at all.

"You! You're all safe! How could you sneak off at a time like this?!" a resident scolded them for doing that reckless action.

"Did something happen?" Byleth asked them for the reason for being freaked out.

"Some strangers from the outside have kidnapped Master Aelfric!" a rogue informed the news, scaring the group in the process.

"They did what?! They kidnapped Aelfric?!" Constance said in disbelief and concerned for his safety.

"It happened as soon as he returned from the monastery. Bandits were lying in wait." The rogue explained more details about Aelfric's kidnapping.

"Shit! How the hell could this happen?!" Balthus clenched his teeth in frustration.

"This was clearly premeditated. I am certain it is connected to the bandits we fended off earlier." Constance spoke suspecting the thieves' actions due to the chalice.

"Have you alerted the church?" Yuri asked him if let the church personnel know.

"Not yet. It all happened so suddenly…" the rogue denied doing this action. "Do you think we should? Can we trust them? If we cause too much trouble, Abyss is doomed…"

"Now isn't the time to worry about that, man! We're not in position to cover something like this up." Yuri interrupted him. "The church has eyes and ears everywhere, so they may already know what's going on. Either way, go tell them the news. Now."

"Sure thing, understood." The rogue nodded with his head.

"Also, if anyone was wounded, send them here. We'll patch them up with healing magic." Yuri gave him the last indication to do before realizing that something was missing. "Wait… Where's Hapi? And Linhardt?"

"Hapi! Wherever did you disappear to! Aelfric has been-." Constance was about to scold her when the other interrupted her. "I know. Take a look at this."

Linhardt and Hapi had retrieved a mysterious letter from anywhere and gave it to the gang to read it.

"What's that?' Looks like some kind of fancy letter." Balthus said apparently not caring about the letter.

"That's because it is. It was lying in the classroom." Hapi replied him.

"What does it say?" Sora asked her.

"Well, it goes like this: 'We have abducted Cardinal Aelfric. We can guarantee his safety, for now. If you want to help him, meet us tomorrow evening in the ruins of the old chapel. Bring the chalice. Know that if you alert the knights, the cardinal's life will be forfeit.'"

"What?" the keyblade wielder spoke with intrigue.

"Who wrote this letter?" Byleth seconded in the same tone. "Wait a second… Could it be…?"

"No doubt about it. This letter must have been left by the people who abducted Aelfric." Balthus assured the responsible ones' identities.

"Then our enemy is really after the chalice. All the while, they were waiting for us to locate it for them." Constance said letting out the suspicions towards the kidnappers, but then she realized something didn't make sense. "No… No! Something about this does not ring true!"

"None of it rings true, so which part in particular are you talking about?" Hapi interrogated her.

"How did the enemy know that we were searching for the chalice to begin with?" Constance answered them making this question.

"True, how could somebody tell that we were doing this?" Sora agreed with her.

"This can only mean that someone in Abyss is…" she was about to finish the sentence when Yuri interrupted her.

"You smell a rat. Someone who notified the church of our plan. It's not good talking about theoretical rats right now. First we have to deal with the problem in hand" he suggested to take measures to solve this big issue.

"Too true." Constance replied in amaze for his voice. "For once you are speaking reasonably."

**/**

**ABYSSIAN CLASSROOM**

The rogue brought some people to Abyss to treat them up, fortunately no many people were wounded because of the incident.

"We really lucked out there. Fewer injuries than I would have expected… and most were minor." Ferdinand felt relieved that there were very little injured people.

"I guess the only conclusion we can draw is that they really were after Aelfric all this time." Edelgard said exposing her theory. "Perhaps they were instructed to avoid unnecessary casualties…"

"Is Aelfric really a cardinal? Are the secret cardinals real? I never had an idea about this." Dorothea wondered about the subject curious.

"Hard to believe. Did you folks in the Ashen Wolves know that?" Linhardt seconded in the same state.

"Nah, that's news to me. The identity of the cardinals is top secret, even within the church." Balthus admitted not having any knowledge about it. "He would never have told us something like that. Oh, except maybe Yuri…"

"He and I talk about a lot of things. But right now, I'd saw we have more important topic to discuss than his title." He said suggesting to talk about something more important. "Aelfric has been kidnapped. What are we going to do about it?"

"Even if it is time to rescue him, we simply cannot hand over the chalice to those scoundrels!" Constance protested refusing to let the said chalice go.

"Let's just give them the thing and be done with it." Hapi said nonchalantly suggesting to surrender the relic.

At this precise moment, Alois and the knights of Seiros appeared in front of them.

"Professor! I came as fast as I could when I heard the report. I had no idea you'd be here!" he called her upon arriving at the scene.

"Is this loud… uh, excitable knight a friend of yours?" Yuri's asked having his face written in cringe.

"Yes, he's a friend of my father's." Byleth introduced Alois to the group.

"Precisely so! I'm Alois, the right-man to the former captain of the Knight of Seiros, Jeralt!" the man introduced himself in euphoric voice.

"Oh my, that means our professor here is the daughter of a captain." Constance said with amaze.

"That's right, my father used to be a captain." Byleth coincided with her.

"Now, about Aelfric's kidnapping…" Alois began. "Since he's an important member of the church, we must use any means necessary to find him. That said… most of the holy knights have been deployed to deal with the Western Church."

"Sure, but any knights are better than no knights, yeah?" Balthus chucked making some teasing.

"I like your attitude, though I'm still embarrassed that we're not in full force… But hey, at least we're quite forceful!" Alois replied in flattering tone.

"Ugh. Here, take this letter. We believe it was left by whoever kidnapped the cardinal." Yuri handed the object over to the man. "In it, the enemy clearly spells out their plan. They're after the chalice that was hidden beneath Abyss."

"A chalice, hm?" Alois knew where Yuri was getting to. "A chalice… Hmmm… Ah! Do you mean THE chalice?! But no, why would it be there? I've never heard anything about it being stowed away in Abyss."

"Then this is gonna come as shock, pal." Balthus said showing him the chalice, much to the man's shock.

"What in the earth is this?! Is that really the chalice from the legends?!" Alois said in shock upon looking at the authentic object.

"It is, Alois." Sora affirmed it.

"The probability of that is unassailably high, so yeah." Constance seconded.

"It was guarded by a bunch of giant, creepy toys. There was a powerful magic protecting it and everything." Hapi explained him.

"I saw it with my own eyes." Byleth assured him. "Please believe us, Alois."

"If you say so. Wow, that means the story of the chalice being bound was true." He said figuring out the truth of the chalice. "Well, what's done is done! Oh, but I guess it's not done just yet. I must report this to Lady Rhea at once!"

**END OF CHAPTER 23**


	25. Betrayal

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: It will turn even better later, just wait for it.**

**FabledLife: Sora's been running a lot so it would make sense if he this was realistic, but as of now, Sora no longer feels pain on his feet.**

**RedRat8: Of course, Alois serves as comic-relief as well.**

**CHAPTER 24 – BETRAYAL**

**/**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY – AUDIENCE CHAMBER | DAYTIME**

While Sora and the Black Eagles stayed in the depths of the monastery, Byleth and the Ashen Wolves headed to the audience chamber to talk to Rhea about the subject.

"So that is what transpired…" she understood where the guys were going. "This is, indeed, the Chalice of Beginnings. It matches the descriptions in the few records of it that remain."

"Don't beat around the bush. What's our punishment?" Yuri questioned her about the consequences they would have to face for their actions.

"You removed a most sacred treasure. Truly it is my obligation to mete out punishment for that transgression. However…" the archbishop stated her obvious intend of punish them. "You also helped the church locate a valuable artifact. In light of this good deed, I shall forgive the bad one. I do wonder…"

"What's on your mind, Lady Rhea?" Byleth asked her.

"I am wondering whether your presence had anything to do anything with artifact's unbinding, Byleth." Rhea answered her question explaining some things about the apostles. "As per church chronicles, the four apostles secured the chalice with powerful magic. The only way to release the chalice is by using the four Crests passed down through their bloodlines. However, given the special powers you possess, perhaps you were able to unlock it yourself. There is no knowing at present. For the being, I'll keep the chalice somewhere safe. As for Aelfric, I assume you that the knights will find and return him in due time. I consider him to be one of my many children, after all. I will not allow harm to befall him.

"Lady Rhea, might I ask a moment of you time?" Constance questioned her with intrigue. "We cannot be expected to give up our endeavor! The enemy stated most clearly that if the knights are involved, Aelfric will be finished! We owe him so much. If there is any possibility that his life is in danger, the risk is too great to chance!"

"True. The knights are strong and all, but they're liable to get him killed." Hapi agreed with her friend. "We can take care of it. With Chatterbox's help."

"Our professor has the strength of a hundred of knights, or about one half of me." Balthus also believed in Byleth's strength. "We've got this. How about it, Rhea? We've been through too damned much get here. Leave the chalice and Aelfric to us. You won't regret."

"Lady Rhea…" Yuri also begged her to let the work to the gang instead of the knights.

"If you join your powers with theirs… yes, perhaps there is hope." Rhea replied them. "As you wish, I shall entrust you the chalice."

"Your Grace, the chalice is a legendary treasure!" a knight questioned her out of concern about the object's safety. "You can't just hand it over to those underground…"

"That's quite enough." Rhea interrupted him. "There's no cause to worry, I assure you. There will be no further discussion on the matter. Even if we lost hold of the chalice, it would be impossible for the thieves to make use of it. Though it was created to return a life that we lost, I doubt that anyone alive knows how to accomplish that feat. If someone were to successfully replicate the ritual… it would be perhaps a work of fate."

**/**

Meanwhile in Abyss, Sora and the Black Eagles were waiting in the classroom for Byleth and the others to have a meeting with them.

"I wonder what those thieves were up to with the chalice." The keyblade wielder began. "I mean, there had to be a big reason for that to happen, right?"

"We all ask the same thing, Sora." Linhardt replied in the same state. "What if somebody knew it all along?"

"No doubt about it, there's something fishy here in this place." Edelgard let out a high possibility about it.

"Any stuff we find out here…" Dorothea agreed with her classmates.

"Hey, Boss. Been meaning to ask… how'd you end up down here in Abyss?" Balthus voice was heard while he and the others were entering in.

"Here they come." Said Petra letting them know.

"What is this? A sort of interrogation?" Yuri was taken aback by this question.

"Yeah, you've never been big on sharing. I mean, you know all about me, and there's still so much I don't know about you." Hapi said being intrigued by his motives to be there.

"Look, I get it. Talking about the past isn't easy. But I'm curious, yeah? So get to it. I've got all day." Balthus demanded him.

"When you're ready." Byleth encouraged him to tell his story.

"Do you now?" Heh heh." Yuri began telling them his real reason to end up in Abyss. "Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to tell you. I'm here because I killed some people from the church."

"What? You did…?!" Constance gasped upon hearing his story.

"What do you mean by that?" Byleth asked him about the motive to do such action.

"Originally, I attended the academy as Count Rowe's adopted kid." Yuri kept explaining his story. "There came a point when the church ordered me to wipe out some members of my old gang. Told me it was a part of an important mission."

"Who is this 'old gang' you speak of?" Constance asked him for those members' identities.

"They were nothing more than common thieves to someone like you, Constance." He replied her. "Anyway, they're like family to me, so naturally I protested my orders. Things got heated and… well, the rest is history."

"That's some story, pal. You're damn lucky that they didn't execute you." Balthus was glad that his partner wasn't killed by the church.

"Heh, you're telling me. Aelfric stepped in and implored them to spare my life, told them to consider the circumstances." Yuri mentioned him as their protector. "It's not so different for the rest of you guys. I'm sure he helped all of us in different ways."

"He did. I was about to be thrown in the monastery underground jail…" Hapi told them a piece of her own story. "People thought I was dangerous, what with my 'gift' and all. It's dark and dingy here, but it sure beats a prison cell. Aelfric really saved my neck."

"Back to the point… Balthus, what was it you were curious about?" Constance asked him to return to the main topic. "You had ideas regarding why our enemies may be clawing after the chalice, perhaps?"

"Nah, nothing like that. But I am hung up on something Rhea said." He spoke showing some concern towards the archbishop's words. "That binding on the chalice, was linked to the four apostles, right? I know I've got Chevalier's…"

"Sorry guys, but mind if we join in?" Linhardt interrupted them asking to join the talk among the others.

"What is it? Can't you see we're busy?" Hapi questioned him for his actions.

"We can, but I just remembered something. Something important. Specifically, the names of the four apostles." He replied giving them an important information. "Aubin, Chevalier, Noa and Timotheos, the four apostles whose bloodlines were lost to time. I figured the Ashen Wolves might have thoughts all about that."

This state left the Ashen Wolves stunned, Linhardt somewhat had found out that Yuri and his team were holding their Crests.

"No use in hiding it now, Constance. Let's lay all of our cards on the table. As for me, I've got the Major Crest of Chevalier." Balthus spoke letting out their deepest secrets. "When I enrolled at the academy, the church ordered me to keep that tidbit to myself. So I did."

"Mm-mm. and I've got the Major Crest of Aubin. Never did sort out now is it I have this thing." Yuri mentioned his crest too.

"As for me, the blood of Saint Noa courses through my veins. This is kept hidden, even from the Empire." Constance also did the same as the others.

"Which probably means mine's from Timotheos. I do have a vague recollection of being told my Crest is rare." Hapi was the last to speak about her crest.

"So the four Crests, which were presumed lost, have all been gathered into the same house." Edelgard understood the situation.

"Looks like we have to thank Aelfric for that." Sora agreed with her, they had reunited the four people bearing their respective Crests.

"So, now that he's been kidnapped, what would be reason this to happen?" Dorothea interrogated them. "If they were after the chalice, they could just have snatched it from us with the need to taking him somewhere."

"Maybe someone had it out for him. Or maybe he messed around with the wrong people." Balthus tried to explain them.

"Or it could just be unrelated entirely. We're trying to untangle this mess by tying more knots into it." Yuri said leading the people to understand that they were trying to tie some loose ends. "I mean, Balthus, you landed here on accident, didn't you? It's not like that's linked to the rest of us. And I could just as easily have never ended up down here, you know? You're jumping at shadows. Anyway, we don't have much time, let's head to the ruins of the chapel and act together."

"Yeah." Byleth accepted the mission, they had to retrieve Aelfric as fast as possible.

Byleth was about to depart to the ruins with her students when…

"Hey, friend." Yuri called her for a talk. "Let's no deny that there's a connection between us. How about you and me have a little date, huh?"

Wait a minute, did Yuri just ask Byleth out? Or he said it to have her attention.

"You want to take me on a…date?" she said figuring out his face.

"When the bell strikes tonight, meet me out front of the Holy Mausoleum. My only condition is that you arrive promptly after midnight, and not a moment before. What say you?" he replied in a flirting tone.

"Hold on, why at such a late hour?" Byleth questioned him.

"It's the most romantic time of the evening of course! Or is the idea of a date with me not appealing to you? Heh heh…"

"Look, I didn't come here to seek a man, whether be a young student or another personnel, okay?" Byleth stated her motives.

"I see, you're a focused woman." Yuri spoke laughing trying to flirt her. "Anyway, nobles have nearly killed one another fighting for my affections, you know. Perhaps you won't get all you want out of me, heh, but I'll promise you a fun time regardless.

"Oookay?" Byleth didn't look convinced, but regardless, she apparently accepted.

"It's settled. I'll see you tomorrow night, friend." Yuri was satisfied by her answer. "Don't stand me up."

Alright, that was strange for Byleth to be asked out this way, maybe Yuri was plotting something and this made her suspect him.

**/**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY – AUDIENCE CHAMBER.**

Back to the surface, a priest entered the chamber to tell Rhea some news and many more.

"Your Grace, please reconsider." The priest tried to warn her. "The chalice is among the church's greatest treasures, akin to even the heroes' relics."

"I am well aware, which is why I have already dealt with that matter." Rhea assured him. "Consider this, the Heroes' Relics are fearsome weapons imbued with great power. On the contrary, the chalice has long lost the power it once possessed. It is little more than a token of history."

"If that so, then why is it still considered such an important artifact?" the priest interrogated her.

"It was created for a sacred purpose. To use the blood of the four Apostles to… return the goddess to our world." Rhea explained the details when she remembered something that got her upset… "Their blood…"

"Your Grace? Is something matter?" the priest asked her in concern.

"I have an urgent mission for you. Investigate the origins of the Ashen Wolves." Rhea gave him a job. "Start with their enrollment forms for the academy. Keep an eye out for falsified documents."

"Yes, of course, Your Grace." The priest nodded with his head.

"Before you begin, summon Alois at once." Rhea continued. "I have new orders for the knights as well."

"As you wish, Your Grace." The priest agreed.

"If I'm correct, we haven't a moment to lose. Another tragedy is about to transpire…" Rhea ended the conversation.

**/**

**MONASTERY OUTSKIRTS**

Sora and the others were out to head to the ruins of the chapel to save Aelfric from the bandits while having a talk with each other.

"That crumbly old chapel somewhere nearby or what?" Balthus began.

"I can play little part here, save perhaps as a bargaining chip for our dear Aelfric." Seconded Constance with her low spirits down due to the sunlight effects.

"Forget it, Constance. Getting yourself captured will not do anything good!" Ashe advised her to not let herself be busted.

"I think we should be more worried about B's… appearance. I mean, he's got the way, WAY more, uh… life experience than the rest of us." Hapi spoke in nonchalantly voice. "And all that life experience makes you look more like a knight than a student, B."

"You sayin' I'm old, pal? Don't forget you're speaking to the Ageless King of Grapping." Balthus replied her in annoyed tone due to her brutal comments about his age.

"Well, she's not wrong, Balthus. There's a pretty huge age gap between you two and I don't say this to annoy you, I promise." Sora defended her point of view.

"I can see some maturity on you, man. I wonder why is that." Edelgard said having a curious glare on the elder.

"Well, I'm been friends with Hilda's brother and we have done a lot of things together." Balthus explained the reason of his nature.

"I didn't know Hilda has a brother." Said Sora amazed by this trivia.

"She does, pal." Balthus affirmed him.

"That explains your… maturity. You make Hubert look like spring chicken." Edelgard understood his reasons, before turning to his butler showing him a wink, as to not make him feel bad.

"Come on, will ya? Anyway, I'm wearing a school uniform. No way in hell they're going to think I'm a knight."

"Yeah, and anyone wearing a school uniform is without a doubt a student." Yuri knew how problematic this mission was.

"To be honest, for a good while, I did think you might be a knight…" said Ashe being curious about the abyss uniform. "Who made your uniforms and set up the Ashen Wolves House, anyhow?"

"If I might so humbly interject, that would Aelfric." Constance answered his question.

"He did?" Sora asked to confirm her words.

"He pulled everything together for us, Sora." Yuri explained Aelfric's actions. "Some time after he was appointed as the guardian of Abyss. Said he wanted to give former students who were expelled from the academy somewhere to live. Somewhere to belong. Of course, all of this was established before any of us were in the picture."

"So getting you four together was a coincidence?" Byleth asked him.

"You could say that." Yuri said in slight annoyance.

"Perhaps. After hearing all of that, it's not as unbelievable as I'd thought." Edelgard gave a good opinion regarding his story.

"All I know is that he helped me, so I'll help him." Hapi expressed her willingness to take the initiative.

"I strongly doubt that I shall factor into Aelfric's retrieval, but I shall follow your lead." Constance said also expressing the same wish to help.

"That's right. We do owe Aelfric. Maybe your goddess doesn't about debts, but my fists and I sure do." Balthus agreed with everyone.

"Sorry to have roped you into this." Yuri apologized for dragging her and her team into the problem.

"It's ok, Yuri. I wouldn't mind if I face such problems to help my students." Byleth replied affirming him that there was nothing to apologize for.

"What a pal, Byleth! The Ashen Wolves really landed an A+ professor. Not just a paper, but in practice too." Balthus praised her for her words. "This is great! Has me ready to get to it and start hitting things."

With that, Sora and his classmates headed to the ruins of chapel leaving Byleth and Yuri behind to have a word with each other.

"What's up?" Byleth began.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've lived my life by one rule: that I'd only play my hand if I was guaranteed victory. "I've gotten this far by using my cunning in any way necessary… lying, cheating, even killing when there was another way..." Yuri told her a part of his life as a thief. "But this next play? Well, the odds don't exactly seem to be in my favor. Not unless you trust me enough to provide me with an ace… Heh. Never mind, friend. Let's just go."

With that, Byleth and Yuri ran as faster as they could to catch Sora and the others.

**/**

**CHAPEL RUINS**

Sora and the others headed to the ruins to confront the Aelfric's kidnappers and free him from those guys, the situation was becoming critical for everyone.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! At last you've arrived, you fools! You certainly took your sweet time…" a man called Metodey said mocking them.

"Guys! Why have you come?!" Aelfric questioned them in surprise.

"To save your ass of course. You didn't really think we'd just up and abandon you, did you?" Balthus replied stating his reason to be there.

"If I may be so bold, we have the chalice you seek. Might I humbly request that you return Aelfric?" Constance tried to diplomatically request the guys to release his guardian.

"Here." Byleth showed the chalice to everyone, surprising the man in the process.

"You guys found the chalice? When I told you of it, I never imagined you'd…" Aelfric stuttered in shock seeing the object in front of him.

"Let's make sure it's not some cheap imitation. Hand it over." Metodey ordered.

"No, not until you hand over the hostage. There needs to be some degree of a trusting exchange here." Yuri retorted making sure that nobody would play dirty.

"I can see you don't understand your own predicament." Metodey replied in a threatening voice. "We've no issue killing the lot of you and taking it either way."

"You gotta do better than that." Sora summoned his keyblade ready to fight.

"Sora, wait." Edelgard stopped him from engaging. "Now is not the moment to start a brawl yet."

"I can't tell if this guy's ears are stuffed with wool or if he's just this stupid." Said Hapi looking at Metodey with annoyance.

"Can't say I'm surprised. Thugs like this aren't about to show us any gesture of sincerity." Yuri said knowing exactly what those thieves were going to, they showed no honesty in their eyes.

"Yuri! Stand down!" Aelfric tried to ask the gang to stop. "Leave me! Take the chalice and flee… you must! It is irreplaceable, you must not hand it to these brigands!"

"Heh. You know us better than that. We didn't come here without a plan. Do you thing, Hapi!" Balthus stated that they had an ace under a sleeve.

"Wait! Do what thing?!" Metodey said freaking out.

"Seriously? Right now?" Hapi asked looking surprised by the words of his friend.

"What is she going to do?" Sora interrogated them.

"This. Now, Hapi!" Balthus gave a vague answer before telling her to do her thing.

"Fine, fine, fine." She said before letting out a huge sigh.

"That sigh! She's…" Aelfric knew exactly what she was going to do.

Effectively, Hapi did indeed summon a giant bird surprising everybody, letting them know by the animal's huge grunts.

"What is that?! A big bird?!" Sora made a question in shock just like everybody.

"You damn right it is!" Caspar seconded coinciding with him. "I never thought that she could call for any monster!"

"I've gotta say, that sigh of hers never gets old." Yuri gave a compliment of her magic.

"Yeah, yeah, glad you liked the show. It's not like it's a gift I asked for." Said Hapi not caring about the praise she received.

"Gyah! Where the hell did this come from?!" a rogue yelled in horror.

"Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here, move!" another one suggested to run for their lives, and some of the rogues did.

"Hahaha! Absolute cowards! How entertaining. Balthus, will you do the honors?" Yuri made fun of the runaway rogues.

However, Balthus didn't quite understand his words and started to wrestle with the giant bird and made Yuri have a dismay.

"Hey, Balthus! Stop screwing around! Come on! Hey!" Yuri tried to stop him from recklessly fighting with the big animal. "Damn, it flew off with him! He'll sort it out. At least we got Aelfric back in one piece. Now, let's handle these idiots."

"Cheap party tricks!" Metodey spat in anger. "Let's make these children scream!"

"You gonna have knock us out first!" Sora said pointing his keyblade on him.

"Your reckless actions could have resulted in death of you. Still, I thank you for that." Aelfric thanked them for saving his life.

"You don't have to thank me yet, we've still gotta get out of here." Yuri replied asking him to save it for later.

"Hmph there's no time for foolish blunders when our future is at stake." Metodey spoke while watching at Sora's team with grudge.

"We must complete the mission the noble gave us. We shall vanquish these infidel posthaste." A thief leader stated his mission against them.

The whole team spread out in every corner to face and take out the thieves they saw, Sora was joined by Edelgard, Ashe, Caspar and Byleth while clashing with them.

"You don't know who you are messing with, you punk!" the thief leader said trying to slay the boy down.

Sora guarded himself from the attack and counterattacked casting the Thundaga spell taking down the man and some of the rogues along with him.

Ashe shot few arrows towards some mounted knights who tried to lay a finger on Aelfric and the others.

Byleth used the power of the sword of the creator to kill some rogues more with ease while Edelgard cut the rest of them down by swinging her axe.

However, more thieves were coming, so Yuri had to make a plan.

"Ugh, there's still so many of them. Hapi, you know what to do." He said coming up with that dangerous plan he knew very well.

"Again? What do you take me for, a sigh servant?" Hapi wasn't happy with that plan she figured out.

That's right, Yuri didn't have a choice but to make Hapi sigh and summon not only another giant bird but other beasts as well filling the area.

"What the fuck?! More Monsters?!" a rogue yelled in horror seeing those beasts.

"Holy shit!" seconded another rogue wanting to run for their lives.

"More monsters coming?! Come on!" Ferdinand babbled freaking out.

On the other hand, Metodey was not exempt from feeling horror upon seeing the beats swarming the whole area.

"Why are monsters like that in Garreg Mach?!" he said just before having his face cast in overconfidence. "Ah, well. Perhaps I can take the treasure they found as a parting gift."

Meanwhile, Balthus eventually slayed the bird down to meet with the others and deal with the rest of the thieves.

"Why you took it so long?" Yuri asked him right after defeating a thief.

"I had to deal with the bird." Balthus replied explaining his reasons.

"I see. Let's get this done with." Yuri ended right before resuming in defeating every last one of the thieves.

Sora didn't waste his chance to perform Sonic Blade ability to take down a lot more of them until eventually clearing the area thanks to his and his people's actions.

All he was left was Metodey, who showed an intense but cocky attitude towards the keyblade wielder.

"So you and those bunch of sons of bitches managed to take out all of my subjects, but it doesn't matter. Just a few more moons, then all will know that I am the Em… hm hm hm… Forget I said anything." Metodey said before realizing that he was talking too much and he was like he had his cover blown. "Then again, if you die, it won't matter anyway."

"Bring it on!" Sora said before charging at the guy.

Sora summoned his Oathkeeper keyblade to take on Metodey and clash with each other's weapons. Metodey tried to cut him down, but Sora flipped backwards and performed the Ars Arcanium laying lots of slashes on Metodey across his body and finished him off holding his keyblade's tip backwards and then proceeding to defeat him with Zantetsuken.

"Gwaah! Fuck this shit!" Metodey growled in frustration feeling a lot of pain. "Anyway, I don't mind the pain, but it's time for me to leave. My employer pays me more than this treasure worth."

Metodey crawled as he could to leave the place, while glaring at Sora with hate on his face, swearing revenge on him in the process.

"You OK, Aelfric?" Balthus asked concerning about his health.

"I am. All thanks to you." The man replied positively. "Is the chalice unharmed?"

"Yes, it's safe. Chatterbox is…" Hapi was answering when three dark mages appeared from nowhere surrounding Balthus, Hapi and Constance.

"What?!" the blonde girl said in shock.

"Nightly night, fellas!" Yuri spoke before slashing Byleth's wrist to snatch the chalice away from her hands, much to everybody's shock.

"Hey!" she spat getting upset for his actions.

"Yuri, why?!" Sora spoke in the same state, feeling betrayed like everyone else. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Yuri! You fucking idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Balthus expressed his anger due to his treacherous actions. What was he thinking? Why was he doing what he did?

"Hahaha! I think you can see what I'm doing, Balthus." Yuri laugh making fun of them, much to his anger.

"Beautifully executed, Yuri. The chalice is finally mine now." Aelfric congratulated him, revealing his true colors. "Along with the blood of the Four Apostles."

It was at this moment that Sora sensed a strong dark energy nearby, and he found out where that energy came from: it was from Aelfric, the man who was acting all along with him and the others as a kind-hearted man for the Ashen Wolves and he in reality had evil intentions on his mind: to get the chalice and maybe revive somebody.

"Aelfric! How dare you to betray us?!" Sora interrogated him after finding him out.

"Wow, I'm glad that you found out, kid." The man replied in a creepy voice.

"It seems I was correct… that there was an enemy in our midst. To think our bird was instead a rat." Constance let out her words she was holding on until now.

"You've always had a wild imagination, Constance." Yuri said with some mock on his voice. "I've got to say, turning your attention elsewhere was a challenge even for me."

"Enough talk, Yuri. I informed you not to divulge too much." Aelfric scolded him for spilling out more info than he should.

"They'll all be under the dirt soon enough. It's not like they'll be able to talk at that point." He assured telling that the ashen wolves wouldn't stand a chance. "After all I have gone and done for you, Aelfric, I would think you'd have just a bit of more faith in me."

"Yuri…" Byleth murmured in disappointment.

"Your soft voice speaks volumes… Guess this is the end of the niceties." He said understanding her disappointment. "It's all on you now, Byleth, Sora. I'm sure you guys will figure it out."

After stating those words, Yuri warped along with Aelfric and the others, leaving Byleth, Sora and the Black Eagles team alone. They were stabbed in the back.

"Byleth! Are you allright?" Sora asked her in concern after noticing a wound on one of the wrests.

"I'm okay, it's just a scratch." She replied affirming him that it wasn't as bad as he thought.

"I'm glad to hear that." Edelgard was relieved after hearing her say that.

"I can't believe that those idiots betrayed us!" Caspar spat in annoyance, who could blame him for say those words, right? "Tell us how, ah I get it. He only pretended to attack you, didn't he?"

"So you were just playing a part in this grand performance. But was that really the smartest decision here?" Ferdinand was rather confused just like everybody else.

"The chalice and the Ashen Wolves are gone." said Linhardt concerned about their safety. "I don't like to think what will become of them without our help."

"And how do you propose we pursue them? We haven't a clue where they went." Edelgard interrogated her about Yuri and the other's whereabouts.

"I don't know." Byleth admitted not having idea about them.

"Well, we know what they're after. That at least narrows down the possibilities." Dorothea spoke with bowing her head down.

"Professor! Are we late?!" said Rhea arriving along with some knights of Seiros to the scene.

"Archbishop! Why are you here?" Edelgard asked her the reason for her presence.

"After sending all of you off, I began to investigate the lineage of Ashen Wolves." Rhea answered her question. "In doing so, I was able to confirm that the documented information about their Crests was falsified. What was once a wild speculation, I now know to be true,"

"Falsified?" Byleth asked her intrigued.

"The Crests they bear are the same as those of the Four Apostles, the same who long ago enacted the Rite of Rising." The archbishop continued. "Once the blood of the four is poured upon the chalice, its power can be harnessed. I believe we have enough evidence to assume that our Ashen Wolves will suffice to carry out this ritual."

"So Aelfric's aim must be to carry out the Rite of Rising…" Edelgard expressed her dismay towards that man. "At the expense of the students... Lady Rhea… What is the purpose of this ritual?"

"We've heard that it has the power to resurrect life, but we are not sure if this is true." Sora expressed his concerns.

"The chalice is a holy artifact, created by the goddess herself. It serves the purpose to restore a physical form that was previously lost to this world…" Rhea gave them a crucial information regarding the chalice.

"So what this man said is true… it really can bring somebody back to life." The keyblade wielder assured her words.

"Not exactly, Sora. It can breathe life into a body, but it cannot return a spirit that has already departed." The woman clarified him the real purpose of the chalice. "Ultimately, it is a tool to return the goddess to her physical form. Her spirit is omnipresent, but her flesh is no more. Such incredible power is truly awe inspiring…and extremely dangerous. In that way, it is akin to the Heroes' Relics. For this reason, the Four Apostles were never intended to pass down their Crest. This gathering should never have been possible. The Ashen Wolves are now gathered together, making it possible once more."

"I see, Aelfric is the intellectual author of this mess, luring them all to the Abyss for his selfish and evil reasons." Dorothea spoke understanding the big danger they all were. "Without so much as a whisper of it to the church, of course."

"This incident is my own doing. I should never have entrusted the chalice to them." Rhea regretted her bad decisions that lead to this mess.

"Archbishop, do you have any idea where they could have gone?" Edelgard asked her if she had a clue for their whereabouts.

"I do indeed. Garreg Mach, which is protected by the goddess, is the only place the Rite of Rising can be performed." Rhea appeared to know the place within the monastery. "Holding such a ritual requires absolute focus, so I imagine the setting would need to be serene, peaceful."

"There are many places inside the monastery" Linhardt was confused.

"How about the Holy Mausoleum?" Byleth came out with the suspected place.

"It's certainly peaceful there, but due to last month's incident, it's heavily guarded at present." Edelgard was rather curious about those words.

"For now, let's return to the monastery. There's much to consider." Rhea suggested them to head to the church, but…

"Lady Rhea!" Alois appeared running in front of them.

"Alois, you look troubled. What has happened?" she asked her looking in surprise by his mood.

"Thieves have breached Garreg Mach's village walls!" he gave the news flash, gasping everyone. "They've been pillaging the shops and residences, taking whatever they please!"

"I wonder if this has anything to do with Aelfric." Rhea suspected of that man, knowing how capable he was.

"There's no telling, but for now, their numbers are too great. They need the knights!" Alois replied admitting not having idea if he did it or not. "By your will, Lady Rhea, allow us to clear the village of these hooligans!"

"Yes, Alois. Please ensure the safety of the villagers immediately. However, leave a few of your best knights with me." Rhea indicated him.

"Yes, your grace. I'll see to it." He accepted getting himself to do the said actions.

After Rhea and the others left, the house' members needed to have a word with Byleth.

"Byleth? It seems that you need to say something." Sora began.

"I do, Sora. It's about Yuri…" she started to clarify the situation. "He, he asked me to meet up with him at the Holy Mausoleum."

"Did he tell you to go meet with him at that place? Ashe asked her in surprise.

"I think he must have a reason to set up this meeting, he took the time to speak with you, Byleth, however cryptically, before he left." Sora gave his opinion.

"Fair point, Sora." Edelgard agreed with him. "I do wonder why he told you it needed to be after midnight. Wouldn't it be better to rush to their aid immediately?"

"Yuri is not stupid, there must be a reason for this, and we gotta head to the mausoleum to aid them." Sora said with determination.

"Very good. My students, let's head to the mausoleum." Byleth ended the conversation and everybody headed to the mausoleum aware of their incoming battle awaiting for them.

**END OF CHAPTER 24**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**Thank you for enjoying the fic, I have to confess that I was surprised to see how most read it is, and all is thanks for you guys and feedbacks I receive.**

**Anyway, it would be all I can write this, peace out.**


	26. Battle at the Mausoleum

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: Considering Sora's presence, it's a very nice question, man. But you're right on something, his sole actions could lead to some butterfly effects and even if the war is coming up in a few years, it could, and it will, feature different outcomes or something.**

**CHAPTER 25 – BATTLE AT THE MAUSOLEUM**

**/**

After witnessing Aelfric's betrayal, Sora and the others agreed to head for Holy Mausoleum to rescue Yuri and the others, but there was a catch, the place was heavily guarded by the knights of Seiros so they had to wait until midnight to sneak into the mausoleum without being caught.

**/**

**EIGHT HOURS LATER… **

The night had fallen and the Black Eagles team finally set up to head to the mausoleum sneaking past the asleep knights to carry out their mission to stop Aelfric from doing his rite.

"Well, no one's here, let's move." Byleth indicated her students to head to the big doors to the said place while watching the corners to make sure that there was no gatekeeper awake.

Byleth proceeded to quietly open the doors and everyone went downstairs to rush to the Ashen Wolves' aid.

"Don't worry, Yuri, Constance, Balthus, and Hapi…" Sora thought in determination. "We'll get you guys out of here."

**/**

**HOLY MAUSOLEUM – MIDNIGHT**

Meanwhile, Hapi, Yuri and Balthus finally woke up to find themselves somewhere inside the Mausoleum.

"Whe-Where the heck are we?" Hapi stuttered having her sight crystal clear of Yuri in disappointment.

"Finally, you're all awake. Good morning, sleepyheads. Or is it good evening?" Yuri replied apparently showing his evil intentions.

"Yuri…! You scoundrel! You are unfit to speak to us, you liar!" Constance barked in that state.

"Yeah, yeah, liar, blah-blah. Nothing I haven't heard before." The guy said making fun of them.

"Look, pal. Enough beating around the bush." Balthus interrogated him in anger on his voice. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Where's Aelfric? And what the fuck are you plotting?"

"Will you shut up with your questions, Balthus?" Yuri was growing annoyed by the man's attitude. "Alright then. I'll lay out for you. Aelfric intends to reenact the Rite of Rising. He's preparing everything as we speak."

"What is this silly rite, anyway?" Hapi questioned him in disbelief and intrigue. "He trying to do some crazy magic to raise the dead or something?"

"Actually, yes." Yuri continued. "By offering up the blood of the Four Apostles in the chalice, you can bring someone back to life. Saint Seiros performed the ritual 995 years ago, but not enough blood was given up. So the ritual failed, no clue what happened after that. That's what Aelfric concluded after scoring the records, anyway. And now, through extreme persistence, he's found the chalice and the four of us, with out Crests. He's placed us under his direct supervision within the Ashen Wolf House, and he did all of it to ensure a successful ritual: The Rite of Rising."

"You mean that he intends to drain us all our blood?" Constance demanded in anger. "To kill us?! Such an act would be unforgivable! An atrocity! I cannot die in this wretched hovel!"

"Yeah, that sounds painful…and permanent. Count me out." Hapi expressed the same emotion, only to realize something concerning about Yuri. "Hang on, the number four includes you too, right? So you're gonna die too?"

"Yep. That's the idea." He assured them, much to the team's shock.

"And here I thought we were close, but all this time you've been skulking around, deceiving us. It hurts, boss. Hurts badly." Balthus spoke in that state and sadness due to his friend's betrayal, only to change his demeanor into an angry but challenging glare. "You wanna die? Fine, I'll kill you myself, you son of a bitch. Just stop with this fucking nonsense of yours and face me, fist to fist."

"Shut it, man. I've lived through hell and worse, you know?" Yuri said throwing him the same glare. "After clawing my way here, you really think I want to die?"

"Then why throw your life away for the likes of Aelfric?" Balthus retorted making this question.

"Don't you get it? Some things are more important than my own life. Some things are worth protecting." Yuri replied throwing lots of nonsense to his friend.

"You're not making any fucking sense…!" Balthus hissed in anger, not understanding what he was talking about.

"It would seem that you want to be punished severely, Yuri." Aelfric appeared in the scene asking the lilac-haired boy if he wanted the same treatment as the others.

"What? Is that a sort of threat?" Yuri talked him back in arrogant voice. "There's not much you can do to me that hasn't already been done."

"True. You took wing from the mud into which you were born and rose to such great heights." Aelfric praised him for not letting himself give up. "To break your spirit would take far too much effort. Though, if I must, I will kill your mother in addition to your dear people."

That sounded really evil, it was at this moment when Aelfric started to show his true colors, his evil intentions he was really planning to carry out.

"Oh… so that's it. You were trying to protect your mom." Said Balthus having his face written in dismay.

"Aelfric, what is it you are hoping to accomplish with those evil actions of yours?" Constance interrogated him in annoyance.

"To resurrect someone I lost long time ago… no matter the cost." Aelfric answered her question showing his true intentions. "Surely there are those for whom you'd do similar."

"Perhaps… Even so, we would never annihilate those we care for!" the girl was upset after hearing him speak this nonsense.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do, nobody I wouldn't trade to see the light in her eyes once more…" Aelfric retorted while showing them a young woman with teal hair laying on a pedestal in a white dress, much to the Ashen Wolves' surprise and shock at the same time.

"Woah… That lady looks real dead, man." Said Balthus shocked as everybody else.

"She is… for now." Aelfric assured him.

That's right, Aelfric's true intentions was to revive that woman at the cost of Yuri's and the others' lives, in other words, Aelfric was completely obsessed in seeing her back to life without caring about the others' lives.

"Aelfric… You're gonna regret this." Balthus threatened him.

"I accepted the regret I might feel form this long time ago. As long as she returns, nothing else matters." He reiterated his immense obsession, much Balthus's and the others anger. "Yuri, if you think you'll be pulling anything funny, think again. The knights of Seiros won't save you. No doubt they're indisposed right now on some mission or other."

"Well, that's freaking shame." Yuri said starting to let out his own intentions as well. "The whole evil villain look really doesn't suit someone as 'pious' as you, Aelfric. Heh Heh…"

"Yuri, I could…" Hapi tried to speak but Yuri interrupted her. "Not yet."

The dark mages entered the mausoleum and walked towards the others, all of them were under the command of Aelfric.

"It is time. Take them." He ordered them to take them somewhere else inside the mausoleum. "Your blood will pour forth, filling the chalice.

"You really are an idiot…" he said acting out of course.

"You were diligent, Yuri. You kept me abreast if all the Ashen Wolves' movements." Aelfric congratulated him for his actions. "As recompense for being such a good student of my flock, I will gladly hear any final words from you."

However, Yuri had few tricks under his sleeve, a backup plan of his own.

"Heh, that's fresh. If you knew me at all, you'd know these won't be my final words. I'm simply biding my time." He said in a challenging tone.

"For what…" Aelfric questioned him confused.

"For the goddess's descent. Can you hear it?" Yuri put a smirk on his face, much to the man's confusion.

Suddenly the bells resounded throughout the mausoleum intriguing Aelfric in the process.

"Bells? This late at night?" said the man in confusion.

"Yeah, you heard that, Aelfric? That's the sound of your demise. The knights are releasing my people as we speak." Yuri stated shooting a badass glare on him. "The ones you locked up and hid away."

"How did you know about that…" Aelfric interrogated him out of shock. "Wait, the Knights of Seiros?!"

"Heh heh… like I said, the evil villain look really doesn't suit you." Yuri said putting a smirk on his face, before making a big confession. "I know it was you who sent on that mission that ultimately led to me landing in Abyss. Overall, your execution was lacking. Lady Rhea has been on to you as well. Oh, and just so you know, I've been working for her since before I began working for you. She had me keeping an eye on you. Told me to inform her if you seemed to be planning anything."

"You!" Aelfric looked at him in shock.

"But you took those I care most about hostage, which limited my options." Yuri continued. "You chained up the Wolves and kept a tight grip on my rogues in Abyss to ensure I wouldn't betray you. I struggled with whether or not tell her everything. After all, my allies' lives were on the line. I deliberated on what to do next, knowing I'd have to rely on my own cunning to see this through. I waited for the chance I could rescue my mother and allies. All while I was paying lip service to you. Until today. The day you pulled all your forces in so you could attempt this ritual. You're not villain, fella, with that sticky conscience you call a heart tripping you up. Not like me."

"I see… you always were one step ahead of me all this time." Aelfric praised him for his cleverness. "It doesn't matter, the ritual has begun, there's no stopping it now. You guys will all die. Just a bit longer."

"Don't think for a moment-." Yuri was about to finish his sentence when…

"That shit isn't getting off, pal!" Balthus grunted as hard as he could before successfully ripping the ropes. "Seriously, boss. Did you have to tie us up so tightly?"

"Sorry, Balthus. I figured those little tears would be enough for you to break though the rope." Yuri apologized for his actions he did.

"I may be the Unbeatable King of Grappling, but I'm also bleeding profusely…" Balthus said feeling how his life was slowly draining down. "You didn't wonder why it was taking me so long? Think next time, will ya?"

"I haven't the slightest clue on what you two are rambling about, but please untie our ropes as well!" Constance whined and told them to untie her.

"You're talking. Do it yourself. I dispelled the silence from you ages ago, or hadn't you noticed?" Yuri stated leading her to understand that they could flee themselves without any more problems.

"I see." She said before untying herself and Hapi in the process.

"It's great that we're not tied up anymore and all that, but we're still being actively drained…" Hapi spoke nonchalantly but also concerned about their life.

"I've invested everything to ensure my success today. My private funds, a veritable army…" Aelfric said expressing frustration and anger towards the Ashen Wolves. "Surround them! Don't let them escape! The ritual will not be stopped!"

"Ugh! Why won't it cease?" Constance felt a sharp pain in her body. "We are freed, and yet our blood still drains from us?"

"Well, this wasn't part of the plan…" Yuri laughed nervously.

"This is not a moment for laughs, you idiot!" she scolded him for his reckless expression. "Our lives are drifting away!"

"Hold on, hold on, Constance, stop panicking, alright? You know I'm never unprepared." He asked her to calm down.

"Hey, you've always a trick up your sleeve, don't ya? I can hear your secret plan running our way." Balthus said aware of his friend's idea.

At the precise second, Sora and the gang arrived at the mausoleum only to see what was happening to the Ashen Wolves and Aelfric.

"Guys, something is happening to Yuri and the others." Sora commented upon feeling their energy drift down. "Their lives are being depleted."

"You don't say, mister Sora…" Hubert knew well what he was talking about.

"The Rite of Rising… Of course!" Edelgard said figuring the actions that were being carried out. "I think it must be it."

"Their blood is being drained and then transformed into… raw power." Linhardt explained them. "Ugh… I… that's a lot of blood. Too much blood. This is hard to watch."

"No way… We gotta stop them!" said Dorothea with determination.

"Guys! Could any of you step within the magical vortices beside us to obstruct their flow?" Constance called them.

"What do these vortices have to do with it?" Sora asked her for the reason.

"It is crucial to halting the Rite of Rising! The vortices are repelling our Crests of the Apostles! We can't block them ourselves! That's why you guys gotta step in these vortices, Sora! Quickly, now!" she explained the actions to take.

"Look, we really want to help, but right now, we just can't. Please do what you can!" Yuri cheered them besides asking the team for help.

"So this is how it feels. Infinite power flowing forth from the chalice." Aelfric spoke while feeling the power of the artifact at cost of the Ashen Wolves' lives. "Without the chalice… I doubt anyone will survive."

"You're just gonna kill everyone, including your allies?! You're really out of you mind!" Sora yelled in anger after hearing the threatening message.

This was a life-or-death battle for everyone, they had to reach the vortices in order to stop the rite and take Aelfric out once and for all, so Byleth came up with a plan.

"Okay, guys. We have to save Yuri and the others, and stop the rite. Sora, listen, we need your keyblade powers to clear this whole area combining your thunder element with Dorothea's." she gave instructions to carry out the mission. "And then some of us will step on the vortices to finally stop Aelfric."

"Right!" all of them nodded saying yes. "Also we need some of you provide cover for us just in case."

"Okay, let's go, Sora!" Dorothea said engaging the knights alongside his partner.

The two clashed with the Aelfric's knights and performed a double Thundaga on Aelfric's henchmen to take them out and clear the area in the process.

"Nooo! Stop it!" Aelfric screamed in frustration after witnessing his henchmen's defeat. "The rite will continue no matter what!

"The room is clear! Let's move!" said Byleth running towards one of the vortices, and successfully stepping onto one of them, precisely aside of Yuri.

Edelgard ran towards another vortex, especially where Hapi was standing, while Sora headed to another one where Constance was localized, and finally, Caspar headed to the last one where Balthus was.

With that, they successfully stopped the ritual, making Aelfric mad as hell, even giving a death glare not only at Byleth, but Sora too.

"The ritual… it cannot fail!" he said out of frustration and anger at the same time. "You… You little bastard! You ruined my most crucial rite!

"Forget it! There's no way you're taking Yuri and the others' lives!" the keyblade wielder retorted pointing his keyblade on the man, challenging him.

"He's right! You wanted to revive somebody… and yet you tried to get us all killed!" Constance seconded in the same tone.

"It matters not whose blood it is anymore." Aelfric spoke giving all of them a menacing and threatening glare. "Even if I must your blood to see this through, I will!"

"We'll see about that!" Sora replied entering in dark form with his Oblivion keyblade to engage a huge fight between him and Aelfric.

**[INFORMATION: Defeat Aelfric!]**

Aelfric casted the meteor spell to try and crush Sora, but this boy reacted in time to quickly slide around him while completely avoiding the meteor.

"Wha-Ah!" Aelfric let out a pain grunt while being brutally slashed by the keyblade wielder.

After dodging the dangerous attack, Sora laid a strong air combo across Aelfric's back and ended it with a wave which sent the man flying down to the floor.

"You… HOW DARE YOU?!" Aelfric roared in blind rage at the boy standing up. "I was willing to carry out my most important ritual! And yet you come here and fuck this up!"

"Aelfric, do you think this will make Sitri happy? Killing everybody at your sight including your allies?" Sora scolded him due his extreme madness. "Think about how she would feel if she saw you doing this!"

"Shut up! You have no idea of how sad I was after losing the most important person I had!" Aelfric replied angrily.

"Yes, I do! I have experienced losses and I have come to accept that the dead can't come back!" the keyblade wielder talked him back in the same emotion. "You should accept it as a real man, Aelfric because otherwise, you're gonna have a really bad day!"

"GO TO HELL!" Aelfric screamed in anger while launching a fire spell, which the keyblade wielder countered with ease, too much for his horror. "What the…?!"

"See ya!" Sora let out a grunt while performing a strong Ars Arcamiun on him with a strong combo slash across his body.

"Did you see that?" Dorothea said with amaze. "He's pretty quick, it's like he's a rabbit in a human body."

"A rabbit?" Petra remarked as she could in the same feeling.

"Yeah, he's so fast, which means he's pretty flexible." The girl explained her.

"I see."

After performing the said number of slashes via Ars Arcamiun, Sora defeated Aelfric with the Zantetsuken ability and sent him flying towards the wall.

"Sora! You did it!" Edelgard called him heading to the zone.

"This man was crazy." He replied turning back to normal.

"He indeed is." She replied turning to Aelfric, who was standing up with difficulties.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Byleth called him.

"Yes." He replied.

Aelfric limped towards the gang with a visibly sadness, but also frustration and rage on his face.

"Professor. You would raise your sword against me?" he questioned her, and then gave her some shocking news. "Your mother lies here! Waiting for us! Waiting for you! Don't you want her back?"

"Byleth, is that true?" Sora asked her in shock, just like everyone else. "Or is he just trying to mess with us?"

"Yes… it is true" she confessed her students. "My mother died giving birth to me, she gave her life so I could live."

"There is no room for doubt. I know her appearance better than anyone. This… is her." Aelfric stated in an obsessive tone. "An upstanding nun who married Jeralt, she died 21 long years ago…"

It was then when everybody saw that woman lying on top of the pedestal, much to everyone's shock. That woman, was Sitri, Byleth's mother.

"Look, mister ritual." Ferdinand said. "Do you think we're gonna believe that anybody who died twenty years is still such a pristine condition?"

"Incredible, isn't it? It's as though she remains untouched, even after all these years…" Aelfric assured them showing a lot of obsession towards Sitri. "Perhaps her body differs from others. Beautiful, ageless… perfectly preserved by some secret only she knows. Whatever the case may be, it is strange, is it not?"

"You're really psycho, man." Caspar murmured in disbelief.

"It's been 10 years since I found her. I came across her body, frozen in time, deep underground." Aelfric continued. "I have worked tirelessly to solve the riddle of her death and bring her back to life.

"Halt, Aelfric." Rhea appeared alongside Alois to stop him.

"Rhea!" he replied in surprise and anger. "You are the cause of this! It was you who killed her! When she gave birth to a child who made no sound."

"What…?" Edelgard said in shock like everybody else.

"Tell me what you've done to her! Why does her body remain while her spirit does not?!" Aelfric demanded in rage.

"I owe you no words on the matter. But I will tell you this…" Rhea began. "She made the choice to die, that her offspring might live. I respected her will. Nothing more. Aelfric. Just as I viewed her, so do I view you. You are as my own child. Please, cease this futility."

Aelfric laughed maniacally in response. "You expect that I should fucking believe you without question?! You see her lying here before you, and yet you 'owe no words' Rhea, I am finished with you. The only thing that remains to be done is to complete the ritual." With that Aelfric teleported away to try to carry out the rite elsewhere.

"Hurry! He cannot have gone far." Rhea asked them to chase after him.

"No need to remind me twice." Byleth understood her words. "Everyone, let's go after Aelfric!"

"Yes, we must stop him at once. Let's figure out where he disappeared to." Edelgard said willing to go.

"What about you four? Can you still keep up?" Dorothea asked the Ashen Wolves if they were still in conditions to keep on their feet.

"Hah! It'll take a lot more than that to stop. If anything, I feel speedier with less blood weighing me down." Yuri assured them with a badass smirk on his face.

"Probably for the best that he drained us, otherwise our blood would be boiling." Balthus seconded with the same feeling as his friends.

"Ugh, speak for yourselves, I feel atrocious." Constance said feeling annoyed by the two and turning to Sora with a smile. "We must end this, and swiftly."

"Count me in." Hapi expressed her willingness to join the fight.

"Then we're all on the same page. But first things first… Let me see this pretty face of yours, boss." Said Balthus before punching Yuri on his face, to everyone's amuse.

"Ouch! What the fuck was that for?!" he whined in pain and surprise.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us?" Balthus interrogated him due to his past actions and supposed betrayal. Nobody couldn't blame him for punching Yuri on his face given on the circumstances and all that. Yuri needed to learn a lesson in a hard way after all.

"I'm sorry I had to use you all. But there wasn't much choice, someone would've died for sure otherwise." Yuri explained his reasons to play the traitor all this time. "It could've been any of you. It could've been one of my rogues, someone from Abyss… Who knows."

"You imply that you didn't trust us enough!" Constance reprimanded him for his cowardice. "I'm very disappointed of you, Yuri.

"Use me or don't, but it would've been nice if you'd asked us first." Hapi said in the same feeling as well.

"Look, I get it, okay? Your people were being held hostage. You were between a rock and a hard place." Balthus spoke understanding his reasons. "But I thought we were pals. Buddies till the end."

This took Yuri aback, he never knew exactly what having a true friend meant... until now. "I need you… all of you. I've been a fool. Thank you for always being there for me. Even now."

"All right, I think this fool gets the picture. Time to find that another asshole and take him down!" Balthus stated his desire to take Aelfric out once and for all. "Will you guys help with that?"

"You got our word." Byleth accepted.

"Haha! I love the hip of yours." Yuri compelled her qualities. "Let's do this, Wolves."

**/**

Meanwhile, Aelfric was preparing himself to start the rite while remembering his days with Sitri in the monastery. It seemed that he was in love with her. Pretty much apparently, but his unhealthy obsession with reviving her reached the most extreme level of insanity, even going as far as trying to drain Yuri's and the Ashen Wolves' blood to make his dream true.

Aelfric's P.O.V

**[Still of Aelfric and Sitri talking to each other at the monastery twenty-one years ago]**

_To me, growing up in the shelter of the monastery, she was my world… _

_All of the memories I hold of her… learning, growing, walking hand in hand… she left me in awe._

[**Change of picture to Jeralt handing her flowers to Sitri, who looks delighted]**

_If that's what makes her happy, then I will watch her walk away with warmth in my heart._

_If that is truly what will make her happy…_

_Surely he will make her smile. That's I wanted for her._

_To Sitri, confined in the walls within the monastery walls, he was her world._

_I saw the way her eyes glimmered when they spoke. And her otherworldly smile when they became engaged._

_The look on her face when she told me how happy she was to bear his child…_

_It was enough for me to see her happiness… to witness it from a distance._

_She breathed her last, 21 years ago. I have never forgotten. _

_She died before she could see the face of her beloved child whom she had so lovingly nurtured…_

_The funeral was a solemn affair. We gathered in the graveyard, said our farewells, and watched as her casket was lowered into the soil._

_That was the end of the story._

_Or so I thought. Until 10 years ago, when I found her… her remains, hidden deep within Abyss. She looked as beautiful as ever._

End of Aelfric's P.O.V

Aelfric was more than determined to perform the rite and revive Sitri by any means necessary as far as to have to face the consequences, which could be fatal for him and everybody else.

**END OF CHAPTER 25**

**A/N:**

**This is it, the final battle of the Cindered Shadows is coming up next and then, the main story will resume with more of Sora's adventure's being unfold.**

**Will Sora and the others stop Aelfric once and for all? Find out in the next episode.**

**See ya.**


	27. The Wolf Pack

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**RedRat8: Obviously, but she will speak to her mother though heart-to-heart talk somewhat.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: enjoy the last battle and see a returning character at the end.**

**CHAPTER 26 – THE WOLF PACK.**

**/**

**CATHEDRAL – LATE NIGHT**

Aelfric was on his knees in front of Sitri's body who was holding the chalice on her hands at the top of the stairs to the altar to try to carry out the rite.

"Stop it right now, Aelfric!" Rhea appeared from behind warning him.

"It is too late. The chalice is filled to its brim with the blood of the four." He said with a written madness and extreme obsession on his voice. "Should their blood prove insufficient, I will spill even my own blood to finish this."

"The chalice cannot return her soul, Aelfric." Rhea reprimanded him. "It is incapable even of returning a body to life."

"Please, you have to stop!" Byleth appeared among her team to try to prevent the calamity, but he didn't cease his actions.

"Be not afraid. Today, your mother returns to us." Aelfric spoke without caring about the consequences that were to come next. "The time has come. Perhaps I am not an equal man to him… But I am here by your side, Sitri."

It was at this moment when Aelfric started to carry out the said ritual letting out an evil red aura around him, giving a bad omen to everyone.

"What's going on?!" Bernadetta said in horror. "This is so creepy!"

"Yeah… and I have a really bad feeling about this." Hubert spoke visibly frightened by that man's actions. "Something is very wrong with that man…"

The chalice started to not only try to revive Sitri, but also to corrupt Aelfric reaching the point of no return and thus pulling her body into his.

"Sitri… Si…tri…" Aelfric's voice began to become distorted for a very good reason: he was literally becoming a monster, but not one of the typical medieval monsters, he turned into a giant monster with an insignia on his forehead and a heart-shaped hole across his chest that the keyblade wielder figured it out immediately.

**[KINGDOM HEARTS BGM: DESTINY'S FORCE] *Seriously, listen to this music while you read this whole part, this serves as a buildup to the battle. ***

"He… He turned into a heartless!" Sora said in shock looking at the monster that Aelfric had just become.

"Into a Heartless?!" Byleth expressed the same emotion after hearing him say that.

"The chalice… it absorbed both of them!" Edelgard commented in disbelief. "Sora, you said that a heartless is born after a person give in to the darkness, right?"

"Yes." Sora confirmed her suspicions.

"Then it turns out you weren't joking after all." She replied understanding the problem. "He indeed let himself sink into the dark."

"That aberration… So this is what you call a heartless, right?" Dorothea said in the same way.

"Yes, it seems that Aelfric has completely succumbed to the darkness." Sora spoke summoning his Oathkeeper keyblade, ready to engage the final battle against that monster.

"So I see… is it just as the last time the ritual was performed." Rhea said in sadness.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second! Aelfric turned into… that thing?!" Balthus babbled confused and consternated.

"Ugh. It does seem some kind of sick joke." Hapi said in disbelief.

"So this is the Rite of Rising? That ritual is quite dangerous if you guys ask me…" Yuri also expressed his disdain towards the situation.

"Of course it is." Linhardt agreed with him. "This man committed the worse atrocity trying to kill us all."

"Lady Rhea! A number of dark creatures have appeared at the Cathedral!" a female knight gave the archbishop some alarming news.

"What? Could it be? Perhaps its presence drew them there…" Rhea said putting herself in alert state. "Everyone who is capable must fight this beast… now."

"Archbishop Rhea." Yuri begged her let him make up for his past actions. "Things ended up this way because of me. Please allow me to make up for it."

"But Yuri…" Rhea tried to object but he continued. "It'll give me a chance to hold up my end of the deal. Let me fight for the church."

"Aaaahahahaha! So very like you to steal the glory in the heat of the moment, Yuri." Constance spoke with a grin on her face. "Aelfric used us, he lied to us, and attempted to kill us. Despite that, he provided shelter when I had nothing. We must end things swiftly, for his sake."

"He's never going to be normal again, is he?" Hapi spoke with melancholy in her voice. "For all those years, he tried to make this happen… bring her back to life, only lose himself. That's pretty awful.

"He made his choice, fellas." Balthus made them understand that it was Aelfric's decision. "All we can do is accept it. Let's do all of us a favor and take him real quick-like, yeah?"

"We'll lay you a hand too." Sora expressed his wish to help the team. "Together we can take him out."

"Yes, you can rely us till the very end." Edelgard also stated her will to end the nightmare. "Time to lower the curtain on this unfortunate tale."

"Are you ready?" Byleth asked all of them if they were set to finish Aelfric once and for all.

"YEAH!" Sora and the others yelled in unison prepared to fight.

"Right. Let's do this!" she spoke being more than ready to engage.

"Please, act swiftly but with great care." Rhea asked them to be safe. "By my order, stop this dark creature… no, stop Aelfric!"

Everyone nodded and then headed to where Aelfric's giant heartless was standing, ready to engage him.

"This magnificent cathedral will collapse if this continues for much longer!" said Constance worried about the place's stability.

"That abomination sure as hell isn't going to back down. We've got no choice but to go all in." Yuri seconded having the same concern as the others, while hearing the Heartless's loud roar.

"He's insolated! Let's surround him. Close the distance in one fell swoop." Balthus suggested the group, but Sora knew this was a risky move.

"Wait, that's risky. This giant heartless throw black and purple orbs and can harm anyone or all of us." he explained the reason to not go and charge at the monster recklessly. "I have faced some of them before."

"You know them?" Ashe asked him in surprise.

"Yeah, he's also capable of summoning the heartless from the ground." He assured him.

"If this is the case…" Byleth began to give her students strategy. "We have to surround this thing carefully if he starts throwing those orbs. Some of you have to fight Aelfric with everything you got."

"I'll fight him." Sora volunteered.

"You're gonna need some assistance, pal." Balthus said joining him.

"I need to make up for everything I did so I'll join you, men." Yuri expressed his will to help him.

"Guys… let's do this!" Sora said with confidence flowing through his veins, charging towards the heartless.

**[CHANGE OF MUSIC] [KINGDOM HEARTS III BGM: DARKSIDE]**

"We'll go too!" Byleth also willing to provide backup support.

**[INFORMATION: Subdue Aelfric's giant heartless!]**

Sora, Yuri and Balthus charged towards to the giant heartless while Byleth and the others surrounded it in case if the other heartless emerged from the ground.

The Aelfric's giant heartless was very slow as Sora had predicted, but that didn't mean he didn't have something to give the team lots of troubles. For example, the heartless brutally punched the floor to shake the whole cathedral.

"Whoa! What kind of power is that?!" said Ferdinand taken aback by the seismic movement.

"He's very brutal!" Caspar seconded. "We gotta stop him!"

"Will do!" Sora spoke as he turned into double form.

Sora leaped onto Aelfric's heartless to give him strong slashes while Yuri and Balthus took care of the feet. Byleth, Dorothea, Edelgard and the others dealt with the monster as well on the other side.

Just as Sora had predicted, a number of the heartless emerged from the ground to face them, and not only that, the said dark orbs appeared from above around the cathedral.

"The heartless are here!" Byleth warned them. "Be careful with those orbs, those are harmful!"

The students dodged the orbs to avoid taking damage while dealing with the heartless that emerged from the ground as they could.

"So Sora was right!" Constance replied in amusement. "Looks like he's a very crystal-clear person after all."

"Sora is an experienced warrior, that's why he told us to take precautions." Edelgard explained her. "Let's take these creatures down."

While Byleth and the others were taking on the heartless and dodging the orbs, Balthus and Yuri managed to overthrow the giant one down the floor leaving it open to any attack.

"He's down! Come on!" after defeating all of the heartless, Byleth commanded her students to approach the monster and lay a lot of slashes shared with everyone.

Edelgard gave double swing with her axe, while Dorothea did the same with her sword, Byleth used her sword of the creator to land a critical hit weakening the monster.

Sora charged at Aelfric and performed a great number of combo slash onto his heartless and then he performed a special attack. "Ragnarok!" he launched a number of missiles straight from his keyblade to finally finish him out.

"AAAAHHH!" the heartless yelled in pain right as it perished, much to everyone's relief.

**[END OF THE SONG]**

"We did it?" Dorothea said in doubt.

"I think we killed him." Edelgard assured everybody.

"Indeed… I no longer feel his presence here." Sora affirmed her words. "He's gone."

"It is finished." Rhea congratulated the group. "Well done, everyone. Because of you, her restless soul has finally found peace. Byleth… I imagine you have much on your mind."

"I do, it's about my mother…" she replied. "What happened to her?"

"I was there the day she brought you forth into this world." Rhea told Byleth about the moment when Sitri gave birth to her. "Your mother, Sitri, had always been frail. Giving birth proved to be too much for her in the end… On that fated day, it looked as though neither of you would survive. In those final moments, she spoke saying: My heart… Give it to my child."

"My… My mother's heart gave me life?" Byleth expressed curiosity after learning of her mother's death.

"This is correct. The heart that lies within your chest, is not other than hers." Rhea confirmed her suspicions. "It was the only wat that you could be saved. But Sitri loved others, much as a human might… and I loved her in return."

"But, why wasn't she buried?" Byleth asked for the reason of her mother still being exposed.

"Sitri looked upon me as though I was her mother, and I wished for her to have a bright future…" replied the archbishop in sadness. "I would not have her buried in the cold, dark soil. Prior to her funeral, I arranged for a fake burial. Afterward, I brought her body to Abyss, where I would sometimes visit her. I never thought that anyone… especially Aelfric… would find her. I did not expect for such tragedy to ensue…"

Meanwhile, the black eagles and ashen wolves were having a talk with each other.

"Boss, there's something you gotta tell me." Balthus asked him to confirm them something. "Was Aelfric using us all this time?"

"How should I know? I mean, he always acted that way around me… like we were a means to an end." Yuri defended himself from his accusing glare. "But the church records indicate he founded Ashen Wolves 15 years ago. He mentioned he found Sitri 10 years ago, so it seems he really did mean well, at first…"

"What's done is done. He's gone, and we're here." Hapi said mentioning how important was to have survived the nightmare. "That's what matters now."

"You're always so quick to adapt to change, Hapi." Constance said praising her. "I should follow your example."

"Heh, yeah, you always get to heart of things quickly. Right, then. I've got a lot to take care of now." Said Yuri telling his friends about his actions he would take from now on. "I need to explain the church everything how things actually played out. And with my people freed from the monastery prison, they'll need to me accounted for.

"Good luck with that whole mess. I'll be rooting for you from afar." Hapi wished him luck on his adventure.

"Surely you'll let us know if there is any way at all we can help. We'd be just thrilled." Said the blonde wishing the same for him.

"Hell, if you want, your people can be my people. I could use some good mercenaries to watch my back." Balthus expressed his wish to train the people from Abyss.

"Enough already, I get it, man." Yuri spoke looking annoyed.

"It's not less than you deserve."Hapi said in nonchalantly.

"What have you sown, now you shall reap!" Constance seconded messing with him.

"You made your bed, now shut up about it, pal." Balthus kept joking with him.

"Heh… Anyway, what to do you figure will happen to Abyss? The church will want to step in, no doubt."

"You got me. After everything that's happened, things can't stay the same." Yuri admitted the consequences of the problems they went through. "The church will probably assign an official to oversee things. Hopefully whoever they choose know how to get along with the Abyssians as well."

"Let's worry about all that some other time, ok?" Balthus suggested them to leave the subject aside. "I could really use a tall drink and a long sleep."

"I'm with you. I hurt in places I didn't know could hurt." Hapi agreed with him.

"It has been a terribly long night, indeed. One I won't ever forget." Said Constance acknowledging not only the Black Eagles, but specifically Sora, who felt a tickle on his stomach and his cheeks mildly blushed after feeling her coquet glare.

The Ashen Wolves turned around to see the sun shining through the cathedral windows.

"A terribly long night, but a beautiful morning." Yuri laughed with a smile.

**/**

**AUDIENCE CHAMBER – DAYTIME**

Everyone went to the audience hall to receive some news regarding the Ashen Wolves' fate from Rhea.

"You mean to say that you're disbanding us?" Constance questioned the archbishop in surprise.

"Yes. After speaking with the cardinals, my decision is final." Rhea answered her confirming the news.

Rhea had spoken to the people from the church and she concluded that the Ashen Wolves house would be disbanded altogether.

"The Ashen Wolves class was originally established for youths who were in need of the church's protection." Rhea mentioned them. "Somewhere along the way, that intent was corrupted, and it ultimately became a cage for you. The Ashen Wolves are officially disbanded. You can consider this as a graduation, sort off."

"You can doll this up by calling it a graduation, but you're the one who sent to the Abyss to begin with." Hapi questioned her looking confused. "Now you tell us to go and live our lives as if none of this ever happened?"

"You can continue living in Abyss, of course." Rhea gave them the permission to continue living in the depths of the monastery. "Abyss will always be a refugee for those who need it most. Your chains have been unbound. You are free to live as you wish now."

"You ask me, this feels like a good morning." Balthus said in satisfaction. "This sound very all right, Rhea."

"After all I have been through, I must say I feel immense gratitude at the prospect of living freely." Constance was glad to have been granted freedom she didn't have before.

"You're just going to let me go? When I was working for the church, I did unsavory things…" Yuri questioned her for not giving him a proper punishment for his past criminal actions.

"You have already been judged for your transgressions, Yuri." Rhea made him realize that he was already been sentenced. "You have slain the underserving. The weight of that is yours to bear. You have time to contemplate your actions now. That is the punishment enough."

"What's with the 'woe is me' act?" Balthus lead him to understand that he wasn't supposed to feel guilty anymore. "She's saying you're a free man!"

"True enough. It's up to me to determine how I'll live my life now… how I'll make up for what I have done." Yuri understood what he had to do to make things right.

"You made up your mind quickly, despite having ample time to think it though." Said Edelgard.

"Aaaaahahaha! Someone of many talents must make decisions in short order… I'm in high demand after all." Constance affirmed her quick choice. "The Fhirdiad Royal School of Sorcery demands my presence posthaste. How could I deny them? Soon, the name Nuvelle shall be removed all throughout the Imperial capital, prepare yourselves!"

"Didn't you already attend that school? Leaving and going back seems…" Linhardt tried to ask her when he realized that he wasn't watching his mouth. "Eh, well, good luck with that."

"Maybe I'll try to see my family again." Hapi said her future plans. "It's been forever, but now seems like as good a time as any to do that. The whole thing might be a drag, though, so maybe I'll come straight back to Abyss."

"I think I'll…" Balthus also mentioned his future plans. "Yeah, yep! I'll find a way to hit big… make tons of money! It's about time the indebted King of Grappling finally paid down all those freaking debts. What are you going to do now, Boss?"

"Eh, who knows. For now I'll take some time to think." Yuri replied. "My main concern at this point is to take care of my people back in my hometown."

"You mean you'll continue your former line of work?" Ashe asked him.

"No need to beat around the bush, dude." Yuri affirmed him. "And yes, that's the plan. That's what I'm best at. But I can approach things differently now. Change how I live…find ways to thrive for peace, you know?"

"Makes sense to me. I wish you all the best." Ashe wished him luck.

"Thanks, friend. Right back at you." Yuri thanked him in a nice gesture. "We both deserve to live our lives freely. I may end up back home after this, but I worry about how my rogues will fare without a boss."

"Worrying about everyone but yourself. Cut it out, will ya?" Balthus asked him to stop.

"Yeah, you don't need to be concerned." Byleth agreed with him.

"There you go again being cute again." Yuri recognized her kindness. "Though I'm certain if you are around, Abyss and everyone in it will be fine."

"We'll keep an eye on Abyss, as well. Isn't that right, Sora?" Edelgard stated her promise to watch over the depths whenever she and her team could.

"Of course, we'd use it as a shelter in case we need to hide somewhere for any reason." He said with enthusiasm.

"That doesn't sound bad… Anyway we promise we will protect the Abyss in your absence." The future empress expressed her will to watch the underground.

"Boss! Boss! You can't just leave us high and dry like this? Where will we go? What will we do?" a rogue came in along with another one.

"I should have known…" Yuri said realizing of his mistake, only to have his face written in a motivating smile. "Humans are adaptable creatures. You'll sort it out just fine."

"Heh, relax, will ya?" Balthus asked them to calm down. "We all know Yuri's not the type to abandon his pals. He's a guy who always turns up when he's needed. Hell, we should all be taking notes from him."

"The world's a dreary place. We could all use a little help now and again." Hapi commented.

"As long as we're all here for each other as true friends, we can live our lives to the fullest." Yuri stated very emotive words, much to the professor's amusement.

"Friends…" she said in that state, beginning to understand that meaning.

"You heard me. You're all my friends… you matter. You always will." Yuri gave the Black Eagles a heart-warming message. "And that includes you, Sora."

"You guys will always welcome here if you ever wish to come back." The keyblade wielder responded in the same tone.

"That seems like a good note to end on." Hapi said giving them a farewell.

"Sure does. Catch ya latter, pals. I mean friends." Balthus seconded in the same manner.

Constance walked few steps towards Sora saying this: "With that, I bid you farewell! Aaaahahaha! Sora…" she then proceeded to give him a kiss on his cheek, leaving stunned and everyone speechless. "We may meet again, you handsome boy." With that, Constance headed to the recently open to leave the church among the Ashen Wolves.

"And so it is. Until next time, friends." Yuri gave his farewell to everyone before taking his leave with his friends.

The Ashen Wolves finally set a foot out of the church and left the monastery to go somewhere else, but they made a promise that they would come back sometime in the future, especially to reunite with Byleth and the others in case they needed to.

After closing the doors, Byleth and her students decided to head back to their daily activities and take a break before resuming their school time.

**/**

**SOMEWHERE IN THE WOODS**

Somewhere from afar of the monastery, the red-black masked man met with a middle-aged man with elegant clothes and long black hair.

"The archbishop lives." The man with black hair gave him news. "Not that I had ever placed much faith those swine from Western Church."

"I have news, both good and bad." the masked man replied giving him updates. "The remains of Seiros were not in the tomb. However, something else was. The sword of the Creator."

"Oh, the weapon wielded by that thief, the King of Liberation." The black haired man said recognizing the relic.

"Thief? Hm. At any rate, it is now in the hands of the academy's new professor. All thanks to that brat whom that man in black told me about." the masked man stated somewhat remembering the way that Byleth obtained the said weapon. "I doubt you will be surprised to hear that the Crest Stone had already been removed from the sword when it was found."

"Hmph. As expected. It would be foolish to keep both in the same location." The middle-aged man agreed with him.

"There's more. The professor was able to awaken the sword's true power." The masked man told him further news. "Even without the Crest Stone, the sword glowed red. The professor Crest is compatible. There's no mistaking it."

"What? That's absurd. Using a Relic without its Crest Stone should be impossible…" the middle-aged man was surprised by the news and rather curious. "The king of liberation's bloodline should not even… Hmm."

A dark portal appeared in front of the two and emerged a young man with black clothes, brown skin and large white hair.

"Who-Who are you?" the man asked him in shock.

"I just come here to see how is everything faring." the white-haired man said dryly ignoring his question. "I guess that woman did a good job wielding that mysterious sword."

"Yes, Xehanort… Seems that kid helped her obtaining that sword." The masked man confirmed him.

"I suppose I was right… that kid is stupid if he thinks he can get away with cheating death or even defying his destiny. What should we do, mister masked man?" he said with evil voice, trying to figure a way to finish Sora.

"They must be allowed to keep it, for now. I do not have enough information about the professor to act." The masked man ordered him to not lay a finger on the sword and Byleth for the time being before turning to the middle-aged man. "As for your request. The Death Knight is at your command. Use him well."

"Good. I believe I will enjoy this a great deal…" the middle-aged man was happy with his statement.

"I remember you said that you wanted to capture that boy that wields that mysterious key-shaped sword." The masked man mentioned.

"I was, but I think I have a perfect candidate to make this person our next vessel." Said Xehanort letting out his reasons to spare Sora, having his face written in malice.

That's right, Xehanort tried to make Sora the last member of the new Organization XIII, but he failed when Riku and the others went to save him and this left Xehanort a bad taste on his mouth.

But it seems that he just found a new person who had a lot of darkness within his heart, he no longer had a reason to get Sora, on the contrary, he found a way to give the keyblade wielder lots of troubles as a revenge for beating him down long time ago.

"And could you tell me for what purpose?" the masked man interrogated him.

"To rebuild my fallen organization… rename it as Neo-Organization XIII, and to take revenge on that brat who humiliated me long time ago." Xehanort expressed his grudge against Sora and his friends.

"Interesting…" the masked man replied giving him some praise to his statement.

Xehanort was really serious in seeking revenge against Sora and his friends. What is he plotting? What retaliation is he willing to take?

**END OF CHAPTER 26**

**A/N:**

That's right, Young Xehanort is here! And he's not happy with Sora's actions and the way he defied his fate, and he's no longer willing to take his heart, but he will try somebody else's to rebuild the fallen Organization XIII.

Also, Fire Emblem: Three Houses turns 1 year old since its launch, what I liked about the game is how accessible is for newcomers and veteran fans for its gameplay.

One more thing I have to let you know is that there's gonna be a few more fire emblem characters and not only that, the final fantasy 7 cast is gonna join at some point too, given their role at kingdom hearts 1 and 2 so that would make sense for them to appear at least one more time.

Anyway, see you later.


	28. Back to the grid and more trouble

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners**

**CHAPTER 27 – BACK TO THE GRID AND MORE TROUBLE**

**/**

**Thursday –7/9 Blue Sea Moon. – Garreg Mach campus.**

After returning to their daily life in the monastery, Sora and the others were met with Shamir who gave them the news.

"I heard you solved the issues with Abyss, good job." She said congratulating the guys. "You guys had an excellent streak against those mysterious dark creatures, especially you, tiger boy."

"Thanks. This is something we had to do, Shamir." Said Sora with a smile on his face, even though he felt a tickle on his stomach.

"Anyway, I wanted to inform you that those western church guys were given a death sentence due to actions against our church. I take that some of you didn't like what Lonato said earlier, am I right?"

"Mmm… Lonato wanted to make justice for his fallen son, what I think is… I'm going to get lots of criticism for I'm going to say but, I'd call this a murder, I don't mean to disrespect anybody's religion but what Rhea is doing, is to oppress people who opposes this… zealous system." The keyblade wielder gave his opinion regarding the church's system.

"You call this a murder, huh? Never mind, let me know you guys that I'm not affiliated with the Church of Seiros in any way, I just do it for money, nothing else." Shamir stated that she wasn't with the Church at all. "I say this because… something is wrong with Rhea… she seemed… very creepy when she gave them death sentence without questions."

"What'd you mean?" Sora asked her a question.

"Her eyes… her eyes' usual green colors suddenly shifted into… yellow." She explained the archbishop strange behavior. "It is like she was possessed."

"Possessed?" said Byleth in intrigue.

"Sort of." Shamir assured her. "Anyway, you guys must beware of Rhea, seems that she's plotting something."

"Don't tell me you're serious." Bernadetta spoke in fright of having to face the consequences. "Think of what if we do something and she punishes us all."

"Well, you guys gotta watch your asses when you're around Rhea or any of her subordinates, that's all I ask you for." Shamir advised them to watch their backs. "I have to retire, I'll catch ya guys later. See you around, tiger boy."

With that, Shamir left the place to somewhere else, what she meant that Rhea was being possessed somewhat? Why would her eyes shift to yellow color? Is it because her heart is completely giving in to the darkness? Maybe, given on the way she executes people for opposing the system.

But the Black Eagles had to talk about something else.

"That's that, I suppose. The assassination attempt, the attack at the Holy Mausoleum… it was when you, Byleth, obtained the sword of the creator, right?" Edelgard began.

"Yep, it was when I got this weapon." The teacher remarked her words.

"It was all the Western Church's doing, but, Ashe's father wanted to avenge his son's death so… who couldn't be saddened nor angry of any child's death, right?" the future empress continued.

"My brother… I just can't handle the idea that this system goes and kills anyone ruthlessly for either questioning, or defying the system." Said Ashe trying to contain his rage against Catherine, and the whole church's system.

"We know, Ashe…" Edelgard understood his feelings. "Anyway, that masked knight who instead of leading the attack, went to fight Sora and lost, and then disappeared without leaving a trace."

"The church of Seiros clearly isn't as unified as it would hope to appear." Hubert spoke with monotone voice. "It seems the bishop of the Western Church was always opposed to the church being ruled centrally from Garreg Mach. Perhaps they hope to remove the archbishop in order to completely strip the Central Church from its authority."

"The Central Church?" Byleth asked.

"Oh, that's right. Your father mentioned that you were raised without any exposure to the church." Edelgard said giving some explanation. "In order to function efficiently, the Church of Seiros is split into several smaller entities."

"Several entities?" Sora inquired her as well.

"That's right, Sora." Edelgard assured him keeping explaining the concept. "The Central Church is the largest and leads the organization from Garreg Mach.

"The Western Church extends from Castle Gaspard, where Lord Lonato rebelled from the far west." Hubert gave them an explanation from the said place. "They can be found just beyond the most renowned stronghold of the Kingdom, the Fortress City of Arianrhod."

"It seems the knights have been tasked with subduing the leaders of the Western Church." Edelgard assumed the knights of Seiros's actions against the opposite church. "We may be given the opportunity to help them with their mission."

"To think… our professor was born in Fodlan and yet knew nothing of the church." Hubert spoke looking at Byleth and Sora with curiosity.

"I never imagined explaining something so basic to an instructor of mine. You're something of a special case, are you not?" the butler commented in a curious tone.

"Guys, Byleth and I never had an idea about the church, okay?" Sora defended her teacher. "This is something we have just learned today. Right, Byleth?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied.

"How strange that the archbishop would ask someone like that to lead her students, and beside he would be our classmate." Said Edelgard staring at Sora and Byleth with suspect.

"Lady Rhea is pretty scary sometimes… but to execute that people just like that? It seems harsh, even for her." Caspar gave a comment about the archbishop.

"Not to mention that Shamir said that something is wrong with her and she seemed very creepy by the way she carried out their execution." Sora coincided with him.

"If one of us does something bad, I wonder what she would do to us!" Bernadetta said with fright on her voice.

"Byleth, do you agree with Rhea's actions?" Dorothea asked her if she was right with the church's doings.

"No…" she denied agreeing with Rhea's deeds. "No, I can't bring myself to just blindly follow her orders, if I understood right, Lonato was part of the western branch, and he fell in battle trying to avenge his son at the hands of the Central Church. But that's not the point, my students, the point is, that I felt sort of creepiness lurking within Rhea somehow by the time she sent us to confront Lonato."

"There you are, professor Byleth. I've been looking for you everywhere." Seteth appeared running into the black eagles' team. "Something's wrong with the archbishop."

"What's wrong?" Byleth asked him a question.

"Her eyes… her eyes suddenly turned yellow when she sent the western church's priests to die without questions… I felt a huge chill down my spine when I saw those eyes, I try to be loyal to her but this is getting on my nerves." Seteth spoke with a visible concern about the archbishop's personality.

"Take it easy, man." Caspar tried to calm him down. "We believe that Rhea is going too far, but we are not sure if she's legitimately drifting into the dark side or something."

"Anyway, we have to do what we're told to do, how's Flayn?" said Sora suggesting to follow the archbishop falsely until further notice, aside of asking him about her sister.

"She's fine, Sora." Seteth replied. "She's hanging out with Mercedes and Annette at the cathedral. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on Rhea to see if anything else happens, because she's been acting strange these days, see you around."

After saying those words, Seteth left the group to head back with Rhea to check on her if anything else happened with her, he indeed was loyal to her for many, many years until the moment when he saw Rhea's brief but creepy eye color shift into the yellow ones, but didn't say anything as he thought that his sight was deceiving him, but, he felt creeped out when he finally noticed her subtle dark side by the time she sent Byleth and the Black Eagles to go and fight Lonato and the others.

Seteth had to be careful as to not have his cover blown, also, he had to make sure about Flayn's safety from Rhea's hands.

**/**

Meanwhile, a man with a blonde hair and light-indigo eyes under a mask covering the upper half of his face was walking around the monastery while being far away from the people and he rested onto the corner from the church.

And then a few flashbacks from his fight with Sora at the mausoleum came to his mind, which made the man smile subtly, admiring the boy's huge strength.

"Well done, kid… I didn't expect you to have a lot of power running through your veins." He murmured praising the Sora's power.

That man is Jeritza, a teacher in charge of armed combat training, some students came to him according to their school schedule, one them was Sora, who would then attract his attention due to his huge strength and fighting style with his keyblade unlike the others.

Unbeknownst to him, his tough and stern personality began to slowly fall apart, even though it would take more than that to finally break off his cold attitude.

He would do anything to attract Sora and have another round with him, as a worthy opponent.

**/**

**ENTRANCE HALL **

Meanwhile, Byleth and Seteth went to Rhea to speak about their next mission as a house and afterwards, she went to the entrance hall to meet with Edelgard to have a word about that.

"Byleth, I heard about our mission for this month." The future empress began. "A thief with a Hero's Relic is worrisome, but with you and Sora at our side, I'm certain we can handle him. Because after all, you have the Sword of the Creator. It was allegedly wielded by Nemesis, the King of Liberation."

"By Nemesis?" Byleth asked her in curiosity.

"Yep, if the legends are true, you hold the power to stand against entire armies. A band of thieves should be nothing." Edelgard affirmed her. "Even the most elite Imperial forces, the Knights of Seiros, or, the Heartless army could not hope to defeat you."

"Why does it matter?" the professor was rather intrigued.

"I'm just marveling at the potential. Besides, your power does not solely lie in the Sword of the Creator." Edelgard explained. "You are stronger and more terrifying than you realize, and with Sora, you both are a real lethal combination."

"Am I that stronger?" Byleth murmured in surprise.

"Of course! You really teach us very well on how we fight, and we manage to survive every ugly encounter because of you." Edelgard replied making her understand her qualities as a lethal mercenary and as a teacher. "Anyway, Byleth… When we leave the monastery, will you still think of yourself as our teacher?"

"What do you mean?" Byleth asked her in puzzle.

"Never mind. I'm being thoughtless with my words." Edelgard denied her words she said earlier. "For now, let's just focus on the problem at hand. Shall we?"

**/**

Meanwhile, Sora was exploring the hall to clean up his mind from any concern in regards to Rhea or any of his friends, knowing that he would have to face the consequences in the future if this should happen.

There, he saw a worried Ingrid standing against one of the columns of the hall.

"Hey, Ingrid! Are you okay?" Sora greeted her in concern.

"Sora, hey." She replied in the worried voice. "I need to tell you something, it's about Sylvain."

"Why? Is something wrong with him?" He asked her the question.

"The thing is… if you meet with him, don't pick a fight with him. The bandits' leader who stole the Relic… is Sylvain's disinherited older brother." Ingrid gave him an explanation which made Sora react in shock.

"His brother?" he said expressing this feeling. "Why would he do something like that?"

"It's because… he was born without a crest unlike Sylvain, I must confess that the culture I come from is very… very… how can I say it?" Ingrid replied while pausing the sentence due to her reluctance.

"You mean… Toxic, right?" Sora finished her sentence, much to her amusement.

"That's… You're correct. The Faerghus culture has a lot of restrains, and the crests being a big deal is one of them. That's the reason that Sylvain's big brother was disinherited and kicked out of his own house, that's why he became a bitter and ruthless thieves' leader." Ingrid gave him some information about the Kingdom's culture, and the reason of that older brother's dark turn.

"I see… I don't understand the big deal with the crests, it's not like they are pretty rare or something, but anyway, it's incredibly sad that the brothers have to fight each other." Said Sora showing empathy.

"Yeah, this is why I ask you not to pick a fight with Sylvain, if he doesn't have a choice but to defeat his own brother, don't object him." Ingrid advised him.

"Okay, Ingrid." Sora understood her words. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"You're very kind, Sora." said the future female knight praising him for his kindness. "I know that we may not save everyone, but I feel like you have a way to save lots of lives, mainly the ones who respect you and appreciate back."

"Thanks, I've been through this many times. "Sora replied remembering his experienced with his friends he saved long time ago. "If you need help or something, you know who to speak to."

"Thank you." Ingrid replied giving him a kiss in the cheek, blushing him in the process.

"We-Well, I gotta go. See ya!" Sora gabbled taking his leave, making her subtly laugh.

What caught Ingrid's attention, was his way of being, he didn't have that bitter and personal attitude like Felix nor plumber behavior like Sylvain's. Sora was the first person ever to listen to her.

It's not that she hates her childhood friends, on the contrary, she loves them for who they are, but she doesn't like their attitude they have and is well aware how screwed up their lives and hers were due to the Faerghus strict and toxic culture.

At least she was happy for Sora to choose to carry a less severe culture like the Black Eagles do, and… she began to think about doing what he does, breaking free from the constrains she had being part of Faerghus, but she would have to think carefully before doing so and consider the consequences of her own actions.

**[SORA AND INGRID SUPPORT REACHED LEVEL C]**

**/**

Meanwhile, Byleth was having a conversation with Edelgard and Hubert about the moment when she picked up the Sword of the Creator.

"It's unheard off." Said the future empress intrigued.

"For a Hero's Relic to be stolen… it's rather suspicious." The teacher seconded in the same tone.

"And just yesterday during afternoon, the sword of the creator was almost stolen too." Hubert spoke with dry but frank voice.

"Also quite unheard of. What impudence." Said Edelgard putting a sad face for this reason.

"For House Gautier to invite us on to their land, they must be desperate." Hubert replied showing the same posture. "But at least we'll have the stalwart knights ready to stand around and watch us do all the work.

**/**

Sora was walking around the monastery when he found Sylvain, who was visibly disconcerted about his older brother.

So he decided to have a speak trying to cheer him up.

"I'm sorry about your brother, Sylvain." Sora lamented about his classmate´s older brother's actions.

"It's alright, Sora." Sylvain said in a sad voice. "I take it that you must have known the news, didn't you?"

"Yeah, Ingrid told me that." The keyblade wielder affirmed his words. "It's terrible that siblings and friends do bad things like this."

"I can't believe that my own brother became the thieves' leader. The Gautier house is our home." Sylvain expressed disdain and displeasure towards his brother. "Please, Sora. He really is one of the worst people I've known, but still... we share the same blood. We're still family."

"Sylvain… I know how you feel… I had a friend who went through the same path." Sora said a comment remembering Riku's past actions. "But I still consider him as my best friend."

"Did he go through the same thing?" Sylvain asked him realizing they both had something in common.

"Yeah, and I had to fight him in order to bring him back to normal." Sora replied. "If Riku succeed, maybe your brother can."

"I don't think this is gonna work, Sora." Sylvain showed signs of pessimism. "My brother's always been like that as far as I can remember. He has been making my life miserable and blaming me for anything I didn't have to do with. I guess don't have a choice but to confront him if necessary."

"Are you sure you want to face your own brother?" Sora asked him a question.

"I have to Sora, my brother's gone mad so I feel like it's my duty to stop him." Sylvain stated his reason to fight.

"Sylvain, if you're thinking about facing him, I got your back." Sora decided to provide him support.

"Would you really do it for me?"

"Of course. We can deal with enemies together."

Sora and Sylvain fist bumped agreeing to take that big risk facing that bandits' leader somewhere.

"Now you've convinced me. I think I have to change classes to join yours." Said Sylvain with a smile on his face.

"Well, although you gotta tell Byleth to get you recruited." Sora laughed jokingly.

And then, the two searched for Byleth to get him to join the Black Eagles House around the monastery.

**/**

Elsewhere, Dimitri was outside of the monastery lazing around, he had a slight pressure on his chest, he somewhat was feeling a sort of darkness invading his heart at a slow rate, something that frightened him.

"Wha-What is this?" Dimitri clenched his teeth trying to resist the darkness.

At his moment, Young Xehanort appeared in front of him emerging from the portal.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Dimitri interrogated him wielding his lance in warning.

"I'm Xehanort… And I'm here to take your heart and recruit you." He replied introducing himself and stating his intentions.

"Take my heart? To recruit me? What business do you have here?" Dimitri questioned him having a very bad feeling about this.

"I can sense you are hiding a dark secret of yours…" Xehanort expressed his observations walking few steps closer, creeping the blonde boy.

"I have nothing to hide, you monster!" Dimitri exclaimed angrily not willing to believe every word he said to him. "If you keep doing this, I'll tell everyone to kick you out of the monastery!"

"You think so?" said Xehanort summoning his keyblade, much to the boy's shock.

"What the deuce? You are able to summon a weapon as Sora?" Dimitri spoke in shock.

Dimitri couldn't believe what he just witnessed, Xehanort summoned the keyblade in front of him, and he didn't know what was going on with that guy.

"Yes, this little punk humiliated me in front of everyone and I want to have a revenge on him." Xehanort expressed visible grudge against Sora.

"So that's why you want me to join you to do evil things?" Dimitri talked him back becoming upset by his words. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not willing to do your evil deeds!"

"Let's see if you are match for me." Xehanort challenged him a fight, even though he had another plans…

Dimitri figured out how powerful that guy was and it was obvious for the future king that there were absolutely no way he could win against him, nonetheless, as a knight of Faerghus, he was not allowed to back away.

He tried to land a hit with his lance, but Xehanort was able to dodge the thrust like it was nothing and performed a strong slash across his chest easily, defeating him in the process.

"I'll spare you for now… then I'll come back to check if you consider my offer." Said Xehanort leaving him alive before disappearing through the portal.

Dimitri couldn't help but to clench his teeth in anger, but way deeply within him, he was scared, he really was frightened by the darkness that Xehanort was holding, not only that, those mysterious ghostly voices were resounding through his head. He needed to do something with this problem before he had a huge mental breakdown or else… there would be devastating consequences not only for him, but for Fódlan and everyone else being unfold.

He managed to barely stand up due to his injuries and had to hurry to the infirmary to get himself treated…

**/**

**END OF CHAPTER 27**

**A/N:**

**OH CRAP, THINGS DON'T LOOK GOOD FOR DIMITRI, YOUNG XEHANORT PLANS TO MAKE HIM THE NEXT VESSEL TO REBUILD THE FALLEN ORGANIZATION XIII AND HAVE A REVENGE AGAINST SORA AND HIS FRIENDS. **

**ALSO, I'VE BEEN PLAYING WARFACE ON MY NINTENDO SWITCH SO IT WOULDN'T BE BAD IF I WROTE A CRACK OMAKE ABOUT THIS AND ANY GAME I MENTION AT THE END OF EVERY UPCOMING CHAPTER IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO READ IT.**

**ANYWAY, SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER.**


	29. Journey to the Hunt

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners**

Geneevee: Yep, the nobodies and unversed will appear, and logically Vanitas would show up too due to being the unversed's creator.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: It could be both things: Rhea's been suffering degrading sickness due to being a dragon and because of her obsession with reviving her mother, she's been slowly falling into the darkness, and it isn't very much due to Xehanort's power, but because of her selfish and creepy personality and she would do anything to preserve the disturbing regime, even going as far as attacking and killing anybody who opposes to the system, like she did to the western church priests for example. This is not to label her as an evil person but as an antagonist from this arc.

And about Dimitri, there are many factors that would even push him over the edge, Ingrid, Sylvain and Felix leaving him would make him insane, but this is not the only problem, leave that alone. The biggest problem is the ghost voices that haunt and torment him throughout the Azure Moon White Clouds arc, the Xehanort's influence and his insecurities to handle a situation properly on his own.

This could lead Dimitri to lose himself and go insane as you say. He will try to resist the darkness as much as he can for his friends, but who knows for how much longer? Only time will tell.

And lastly, as I want this Three Houses story to have a very Kingdom Hearts feeling, I'm gonna infuse every demonic beast with a Heartless. That way, there will be some darkside heartless to defeat.

**/**

**CHAPTER 28 – JOURNEY TO THE HUNT.**

**ENTRANCE HALL**

Meanwhile. Byleth was walking in the place before she met with a middle-aged man with orange hair wearing a knight tunic with an orange scarf.

"Hail, Professor. If I may introduce myself, I am Gilbert. My life has been spent as a dedicated knight. I am to accompany you on your assignment." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Byleth." She replied doing the same. "I'm the Black Eagles' teacher."

"No, miss Byleth. The pleasure is all mine, I assure you, I may have slowed a step in recent years, but I pledge to you the full extent of my abilities" said Gilbert in a kind but formal tone.

"Thank you, Mister Gilbert. I'll look forward working together." Byleth thanked him for his proposition before taking her leave. "If you excuse me."

"See you later." Gilbert waved his farewell.

**/**

Sora met with Edelgard at the campus while taking a break from his class schedule, the future empress had been feeling her icy heart melt slowly, and because of that, she began to be nice to her classmates, especially Sora.

"Well… You must have known that Sylvain's brother is the thieves' leader, right?" she began.

"Yep, I wonder why this crest system is so important… to go as far as stripping somebody away from his heritage." Sora said having his face written in intrigue.

"You tell me, I always have been disgusted by this society who views the crests as a real deal, Sora." Edelgard replied expressing a lot of dislike towards the system.

"Same, there are couple of things I don't like from that society." The keyblade wielder replied in the same manner.

Edelgard turned her gaze towards him seeming herself curious and interested ay his words. "Looks like we have something in common, this is one of the reasons on why I will become the empress and change the world."

"Change the world… that would be a very long task, Edelgard." Sora said being aware of this long job for her.

"I know… but with your help, maybe this job will be quite easier." Edelgard expressed optimism about her initiative on changing Fodlan.

Edelgard came to realize that Sora was the first person ever to treat her as a friend, rather than just as partners or classmates in battle. She felt like she could let out a lot of things she wouldn't talk to the others, but Edelgard knew very well that she wasn't ready to speak up, at least not yet.

But nonetheless, the future empress of Adrestia knew that she could rely on not only Sora, but Byleth too in case a huge hell breaks loose.

"Anyway… I've been wondering on how come you're able to deal with strong enemies like Aelfric's… giant heartless or something like that?" Edelgard decided to change the subject to talk about his keyblade's powers. "I mean, if you didn't show up here… who knows if we all would have survived this terrible incident. Sora… Who are you exactly?"

"Well…" Sora tried to think about telling her the half-truth. "You see… I've been the keyblade wielder for a very long time and I started to… protect every corner of my oriental home country until I came here."

Okay, Sora didn't tell her that he started his journey through every world he visited and protected from the heartless and other dark creatures, well, given that Edelgard would not have believed him that, he resorted to tell this little white lie. He didn't want to lie her, but he was well aware that she would not believe him if he tried to tell her the whole truth of his actions.

"I see… you wandered out of your oriental country and came here casually, right?" Edelgard began to understand his 'origins'.

"Yep." Sora half-lied.

"I can see why you are popular among the girls." Edelgard chuckled giving him a compliment jokingly. "I can tell that Claude isn't gonna hold his reign for much longer."

"You think so?" he chuckled back. "I thought that he was the most popular guy."

"Yes, but your honesty and behavior is what gets everyone's attention. I bet you've become quite famous, Sora."

"I think I must have given envy to some people, didn't I?"

"Surely, but just let them be."

Edelgard came to realize on how talking to Sora did some good progress on burning her heart covered in ice… slowing tearing that cold mask she was holding on top of her real self apart.

"So… how about we meet with Byleth and the others?" Edelgard proposed him to join their professor and review their mission.

"Yeah, let's go." Sora ended the conversation as they headed to where their teacher were waiting.

**/**

**OUTSIDE OF THE MONASTERY – FOREST**

Sora, Byleth, Edelgard and the others were walking through the woods heading for the Kingdom Territory in a mission to confront the thieves' leader and take him down for good.

However, the weather was cloudy and a thunder sound was heard everywhere and then it started to rain.

"Looks like it's raining, guys." Said Sora knowing what was to come next.

"This weather is unfortunate. Those villagers were right when they said a storm was brewing." Edelgard coincided with his friend. "But they were more afraid of an attack than they were of the storm. Let's end this quickly."

"The thieves have taken Conand Tower as their base…" Hubert let them know the thieves' location. "There's it is in the distance."

"Miklan, Sylvain's brother, must be more skilled than your average thief to have overtaken a place like that." Edelgard mentioned the man's capabilities to carry out such invasion.

"This area was the site of a massive battle several hundred years ago when invasions from the north were at their peak." Gilbert explained some history of that place. "This tower was built for both surveillance and defense. It will be difficult to seize it."

"You know your history, Gilbert. If I recall correctly, you're from Kingdom, right?" Edelgard remarked the middle-man with praise.

"Yes, I left my home long ago. If you have any questions about the mission, I'd be happy to answer them." Gilbert said.

"What do you know about the leader of the thieves?" Byleth asked him a question.

"House Gautier has always placed a great importance on whether or not someone bears a Crest." The man answered her question regarding the importance of the Crest and Sylvain's family. "Margrave Gautier has to sons. A Crest never manifested for his eldest."

"_So Sylvain bears a Crest while Miklan doesn't…" _Sora thought about what the old man was saying.

"It's not hard to imagine why he left and wound up in this sort of life." Gilbert kept going on.

"There's no reason that Crests should have the power to dictate someone's destiny." Edelgard exposed her point of view.

"Yeah, no wonder this system is harming people's life." Sora coincided with her friend. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Don't you agree, Mister Gilbert? He was just another victim of a cruel fate." Said Byleth concerned about fatal consequences of such extreme importance towards the Crests.

"Forsaken by the goddess, who now demands his execution." Edelgard seconded.

"I can't blame you for not agreeing with this Crest system, but most people trust it, it's not impossible to change their minds but it's not an easy job either, anyway, let's head for the tower." Gilbert let out a comment and they headed to the tower.

**/**

**CONAND TOWER**

Everybody went upstairs defeating many enemies who tried to stop their tracks, there were some ruffians that were on Miklain's behalf trying to stop them.

Sora and the others kept going on until they almost reached last floor.

"The enemy is close by. We're almost to the top floor." Gilbert let them know where they were.

"They have nowhere to flee, so the situation is in our favor." Edelgard gave her team some indication. "All we have to do is chase them down."

"Don't hold back for my sake, guys." Sylvain advised them to not hesitate for any second. "My brother is going to pay for everything he's done."

Everyone nodded and proceed to take down every rogue guy they saw around the tower.

Sora and Sylvain dealt with the toughest ruffians having the free pass for everyone else to go on.

However, Gilbert noticed some enemies showing up from behind.

"There are reinforcements approaching, professor Byleth, mister Sora, Sylvain, go get Miklan, Gilbert and I will handle them!" Hubert indicated them to go ahead.

"Okay, Hubert, let's go guys!" Edelgard agreed with a little reluctance, concerned about his retainer's integrity.

Sora and the others went ahead searching for Miklan, it wasn't going to take too long for them to find the thieves' leader anymore.

However, a swarm of heartless appeared on their way trying to prevent them to keep going any further.

"Heartless!" Sora said shocked at their huge number of them.

"What are they doing here?!" Ferdinand seconded in the same voice.

"I dunno, but something's up guys." Byleth replied in a cautious stance.

"Guys, go after Miklan! I'll take care of these guys, go!" Sora asked them to move forward and leave that to him.

"They are too much for you to fight them on your own, Sora." Dorothea refused to leave him fight alone. "You need someone to reach for your hand. Because you're our best friend after all."

"But there's no way you-"

"You don't have to carry the weight alone." Edelgard interrupted him joining in. "Despite having no skill to hold a weapon like yours, I'm can't bring myself to see how you break your bones trying to defeat every dark creature you see.

Sora didn't want to put his friends in danger while trying to battle this horde of the Heartless, this was his problem not theirs, but upon noticing the huge number of these dark creatures, the girls couldn't sit and watch Sora risking his life trying to hold them off and be overrun by the heartless.

"The girls are right, you have done a lot for us, now is our turn to help you dealing with these dark creatures." Byleth stated her reasons as to not let him fight alone. "Right after we finish them off, we'll help the others and capture Miklan, okay?"

"Girls, thank you." Sora was amazed by their motivational speech.

"That's what we are here for, honey." Dorothea said in a teasing voice.

"Alright, then it's settled." Byleth started to indicate the other students. "Guys, go ahead! We'll deal with these dark creatures!"

"We'll catch you guys later!" Sora seconded in the same tone.

"Okay, follow me, guys!" Gilbert understood and went on to reach for Miklan.

**[Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX BGM: Sinister Shadows]**

Gilbert and the others went ahead while being helped by Sora and the girls who cleared the path for them. Hence, they left the team to fight the heartless on their own.

The heartless surrounded the keyblade wielder and the girls, as they were hundreds of them, they were very well aware that this wouldn't be an easy battle and they knew it…

"There's too many of them!" Edelgard said with disgust defending herself like the others.

"Don't give up, we can take them down together." Said Sora willing to carry out the mission.

"How about we use the technique we have practiced?" Byleth came up with an idea. "I think this will erase them."

"The quartzer… So is time to finally demonstrate what we're made of…" Edelgard understood her message, just like the others.

"Sora, Dorothea, Edelgard, let's combine our powers!" Byleth commanded them.

Everyone nodded with their heads and what they did is this: Sora slashed the heartless with swiftly movements using his keyblade. Byleth did her own thing with the Sword of the Creator, while Dorothea and Edelgard slayed few more of them, synchronizing their movements together.

"Take that!" Edelgard exclaimed slashing one of the heartless with her axe.

And to finish them off, the four together made a huge and strong cut to kill the rest of the heartless and clear the area.

"The area is clear! Let's go!" Byleth said as they went to help the others.

**[END OF THE SONG]**

**/**

Meanwhile, Gilbert and the others were searching for the thieves' leader, it didn't take even more than five minutes until they eventually found him.

"There he is!" Sylvain exclaimed upon finally finding his brother. "Miklan!"

"You fucking son of a bitch… Why have you come, you Crest-bearing fool!?" Miklan spat out of anger on his voice.

"I'm here for the Lance of Ruin, Miklan. Hand it over, I don't want to humiliate you, but I have to." Sylvain tried to reason with him, but he wasn't listening.

"Hmph! Hurry up and die already! If not for you… if it hadn't for you…" Miklan rudely expressed his strong grudge towards his brother, much to his anger.

"Cut it out already, you idiot!" Sylvain retorted, sick of his brother's nonsense blame on him. "I'm sick of hearing that, bro. You always have blamed me for anything that isn't my fault, Miklan!"

"So, you think you can take my lance from me, huh? I'll fucking kill you, cocksucker…" Miklan warned him in a menacing voice before turning himself into a demonic beast but not only that, he immediately became a heartless as well, much to Sylvain's horror.

"What the hell is that? It's like watching a bad dream come to life." He said in shock like everyone else.

"He turned into a heartless, man!" Caspar replied in the same voice as well.

"He did what?!" Sylvain couldn't believe on what he just heard.

Sylvain never thought that Miklan would come to do something that extreme to get revenge on people who disowned him for not bearing a Crest unlike his brother. And now, he turned into a giant heartless in demonic beast form to try to slay everybody on his sight. There had to be a way to stop Miklan… And fast.

"Oh shit! He's gonna tear us apart! Move!" Caspar freaked out and asked them to watch for that monster's moves.

Miklan's heartless tried to stomp the black eagles and Gilbert but they managed to narrowly dodge it and fight back by attacking its feet.

But the beast was stronger and sent them flying with its tail.

"Darn it!" Sylvain muttered between his teeth in frustration. "I can't believe my own brother is doing such barbarity."

"What do we do?" Bernadetta said in fright for their lives. "What if our teacher and the others don't come and save us?!"

"Teacher, Sora and the others will come here, no worry." Petra told her to have faith in them. "Sora, Edelgard, Dorothea and professor Byleth is strong warriors, I know."

"You're right, Petra. We may not be at the same level as them, but we still gotta give everything we got until they come here!" Ferdinand expressed his will to stand up for his partners.

"I couldn't agree more." Caspar expressed the same feeling, just like everyone else.

"Guys… Okay, let's hold out until the professor Byleth and the others come." Gilbert incited them to fight.

That's how everyone gave their best to handle the heartless despite the biggest difficulties they were facing, given to a little to no damage they dealt to the monster, and everybody was wearing down.

"This is too much…" Gilbert panted due to his tiredness. "We did everything we could…"

Miklan's heartless were about to slay everybody when suddenly… a Strike Raid came from nowhere and struck the monster to the ground.

"What?" said Sylvain mouth-opened, only to realize of the person who threw the keyblade. "Sora!?"

Yep, it effectively was Sora who threw his keyblade and struck the giant heartless, but not only that, he was accompanied by Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He said while being glad that they made it in time to prevent their imminent deaths.

"Sora… guys… thank you for defending us." Sylvain thanked him. "Miklan is a monster now."

"I see… he became into a heartless…" Edelgard said looking at the monster with seriousness. "We don't have a choice but to end his suffering."

"Sylvain… are you sure you want this?" Sora asked him one last time if he was ready to kill his own brother.

"Just as Edelgard said… we must end his madness once and for all." He replied with determination, with a slight sadness on his face. "Sora, whatever you do… don't kill him… I'll do it myself."

"Okay… in that case, I'll just knock him off so we can take him down together." Sora understood Sylvain's plan.

"Alright… We have to finish this monster." Byleth commanded the team. "Sora and the girls will deal with him. And when he's stunned, we'll hit him with everything we got."

"Yes, professor!" Everyone shouted in unison ready to battle the monster.

**[INFORMATION: Subdue Miklan's Heartless!]**

Sora transformed into double form and leapt through the giant heartless to land lots of slashes with his oblivion keyblade. And then, he closed his eyes and summoned a huge lion animal with red hair around its face, that lion was Simba, the Lion King.

"Let's do this, Simba!" Sora screamed while charging towards Miklan's heartless.

"What in the world is this?!" said Ferdinand mouth-opened in astonishment.

"I ask the same thing… it is like Mister Sora was some kind of magician… This guy is something else." Hubert was amazed as well like the others.

Simba was letting out some fire anytime he jumped everywhere, the demonic beast tried to shoot Edelgard and the others some deadly spikes, but Sora and Simba shielded them using Reflega technique and the spikes bounced back at the monster and left it stunned for a moment.

This let Sora have his chance to retaliate and Simba charged at the heartless and bit its neck in a number of brutal ways to stun Miklan.

"Thank you Simba!" Sora thanked the lion for his help.

"You're welcome, Sora. Call me again when you need to." The lion king replied back before fading away.

Everybody was speechless after Sora's actions, as they just had found out that he could summon a different being like Simba or anyone else, but there was no time to waste.

"We'll save the chat for later, we gotta take Miklan out, come on!" Byleth commanded her students to give the heartless a final blow.

Everybody surrounded and gave a big beating to the monster between each and every one of the team, just as Sora had planned, he let Sylvain give his own brother a final blow.

"Sylvain, it's time." Sora told him to do what he had to do.

"Thanks Sora… it shall be my honor to end my brother's suffering…" he spoke in a serious voice walking slowly towards his almost-dead brother's Heartless.

With some reluctance, Sylvain walked few steps closer to the monster, and… with some sadness on his face, he pierced his sword through Miklan's thorax, killing him and ending his madness as his brother faded away in black particles.

"Miklan… My brother…" Sylvain got on his knees mourning his death.

"I'm so sorry, Sylvain… there was nothing we could do." Sora comforted him in a tender voice.

"It's okay. We wouldn't have wanted it another way." He said slipping his tears away. "I really loathe that crests crap, you know?"

"Do you really hate it, don't you?" Sora asked understanding him.

"Yes… I do. I just can't stand seeing how the nobles see the crest as such high priority, Miklan was disowned from his inheritance because of this… no, not only that, some women are sometimes after me because of my crest, not because of who I am." Sylvain expressed intense disgust towards that society they all lived in.

"Gosh… I never knew you went through this hell, man." Sora said in concern. "Now I can somewhat understand Edelgard's words. Looks like some greedy nobles are exploiting people who bear a crest to do what those guys want, if that's what I understood."

"Indeed… this is why I'd love to overthrow that crest system somewhat, not soon but someday." Sylvain expressed his aim.

Sora couldn't blame Sylvain for expressing strong hatred to the crest system, despite Miklan doing a lot of evil things, he still was his elder brother, bond by the blood. And this was a tragedy caused by this society who views the crest as such a big importance, and many people's lives were ruined because of this, not just Miklan's.

"Okay… looks like it's finished, let's retrieve the lance and get out of here." Edelgard said as they all were picking the lance and left the area.

**/**

**SORA'S ROOM**

While everyone else was resting on their respective rooms, Sora was lying on his bed thinking about that incident.

"_That man… His form was changed. It was as though that lance was swallowing him whole."_ Sothis spoke.

"All because he didn't have a crest." Sora replied visibly lost in thoughts. "I can't stop wondering myself on why are many nobles that obsessed with such thing."

"_Upon that sight, it makes sense that you and your classmates were upset, Sora._" Sothis said out of concern as well. "_I don't blame you, it seems that you are not used to that society that everyone here in Fodlan lives. I wonder if those Relics truly hide such power?_"

"I dunno, but I can somewhat tell that they hold something powerful within…" Sora let out a theory.

"_Yet even still, that power seems familiar. That form as well… As one like your dear teacher wields the Sword of the Creator…_ _Sora, does that mean your weapon holds the same kind of power too?"_

"Maybe… I dunno. Does Byleth knows this too?"

"_I talked to her few moments ago, and she feels the same._"

**/**

**AUDIENCE CHAMBER **

Byleth headed to the hall and met with Rhea to inform her about their mission, even though the teacher was stealthy being cautious with the archbishop in front.

"Professor Byleth, you have returned. The goddess is indeed generous with her divine protection." Rhea greeted her.

"It was quite difficult, but we survived." Byleth replied back.

"I have already heard Gilbert's report about what happened. I never thought that your dear student would be capable of summoning such strong creature to deal with the beast." The archbishop mentioned it.

"Yeah, it was astonishing… I have never thought that Sora could do a lot of things." Spoke Byleth remembering her student's actions.

"See it that you keep what transpired at the tower to yourself." Rhea said. "People would lose faith in the nobles should rumors spread of one using Relic and transforming into a monster. All regions of Fódlan would fall into chaos. We must avoid it at all costs."

"_This is how Sylvain feels right now._" Byleth thought about his student's problem.

"Please ensure the students who accompanied you understand this as well. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, of course."

Byleth felt something was not right with those words, for her, it was like Rhea was censoring things to keep everything in order, something was wrong and she didn't want to say nothing.

Since she first met Sora and joined the Black Eagles, Byleth slowly began to open her eyes to realize that Rhea was hiding something, but in order to keep the appearances and to not get caught, Byleth decided to wait until the right time to be ready to expose the dark side of the Archbishop.

"Will I share the same fate?" Byleth questioned her intrigued.

"If someone without a Crest were to wield the Relic you possess, they would likely meet the same fate as Miklan." Rhea answered her question. "You, Byleth, however, have been chosen. You are worthy of wielding the Sword of the Creator, so there's no worry. The church will formally return the lance to House Gautier. If you would…"

Rhea asked Byleth to hand the lance over to the church and do absolutely as she said, however, Byleth had second-thoughts rambling around her mind. What if Sylvain kept the lance? This would not provoke that atrocious transformation due to him bearing his Crest. Because after all, she could tell how annoying was for somebody to have his or her life ruined because of this huge obsession.

"I'm sorry, Lady Rhea but I can't hand the lance over." Byleth decided to take a risk saying no, to the Archbishop's shock.

"What is the meaning of this, Byleth? Are you aware on what you just said?" Rhea questioned her in disappointment.

"Ahem, excuse me." Sylvain stepped in the middle joining them. "Lady Rhea, I am overjoyed and beyond grateful to you for recovering the Relic of my family, House Gautier."

"Sylvain?" Byleth said in surprise.

"Now, may I please have that lance? I received direct approval from my father to take possession of it." He said stating his true intentions.

Byleth couldn't believe what she just heard, her student was willing to wield the lance that his brother once used, and unfortunately transformed him into a monster.

"As the next head of House Gautier, do you swear that you will never cause such deplorable incident to transpire?" Rhea gave an oath speech.

"On my family's name… and on my brother's life, I swear it." Sylvain swore in behalf of his family.

"Very well." Rhea accept his oath. "However, I have one condition. You must never allow another to wield this lance. Your brother clearly demonstrated what fate awaits those who break that restriction."

"Yes. I…I will not soon forget." Sylvain understood her words, he wasn't willing to get anybody go through the same fate as Miklan. Never.

**END OF CHAPTER 28**

**/**

**OMAKE **

**NOTE: THIS IS A NON-SENSE CRACK FIRE EMBLEM HEROES-STYLE FILLER SO JUST HAVE A GOOD TIME LAUGHING INSTEAD OF TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY XD**

The whole Garreg Mach Monastery school went to a beach to spend some summer vacation days taking a break from their duties, to just space out and do what every carefree does.

Sora was wearing an open red-black shirt and shorts of the same color, his moderately worked out body got the women's attention, especially Byleth's, who wore a sexy black bikini which showed a fair and good view on cleavage and a cape of the same color.

Rhea was there too wearing a white bikini showing her well-downed body, stealing some guys' gaze, except for Sora, who had the attention of the girls, and had some men's envy as well.

"You look handsome, Sora." Said Dorothea, who wore a black-colored hat and black bikini among a veil on her waist in suggestive voice.

"You look pretty good too." He replied giving her some compliment about her 'attributes'.

"Oh, so you like what you see?" she winked making a sexy pose so he could see her cleavage for one second.

"I try to be a decent man, you know?" Sora tried to defend himself from her friend's temptation.

"I know… that's what I like about you." Dorothea stated in flirting voice coming closer to him.

"Hello… you guys know I'm here?" a known female voice was heard from behind, and they turned their gaze around to see who she was.

"Oh, Edie." Dorothea greeted her casually."

"Edelgard. It's not what you think." Sora laughed between his teeth trying to hide his nervousness.

"Aha… Looks like you're defeating Sylvain and Claude in popularity among the women." The future empress spoke jokingly as she warped her hands around his wrist.

"Don't tell me I got them jealous, did I?" the keyblade wielder knew very well where she was going.

"Not quite, dear." Dorothea did the same thing while going somewhere else. "But looks like it, Sylvain tried to lift my skirt but Ingrid caught and beat the crap out of him dragging him off here."

"Ouch. I told him many times to stop doing that, but he just won't listen." Sora chuckled after hearing it. "I wonder if he will ever become a decent man."

"Who knows, how about we three surf together?" Edelgard invited them to have fun with the waves of the beach.

"Hey guys!" another female voice was heard behind the trio.

"Byleth?" they said in unison in surprise.

"You thought you guys would leave me behind?" she said smiling at them, with a subtle suggestive tone. "I wanna have fun too, I'm tired of having to deal with these pervert guys looking at my breasts and legs."

"Well, it seems that I don't wanna make you girls uncomfortable so I have to go." Sora was set to leave the girls when Byleth grabbed him by a hand.

"No, Sora, you're good." She said making him understand that his presence wasn't causing discomfort among the girls. "Well, shall we all go surfing the four together?"

The four headed to the sea to play and splash each other, no doubt that they had a lot of chemistry between each other when it came to the combat situations, but daily things like this.

Elsewhere, Sylvain was sitting down against a palm with a bowed face with a big anime drop on top of his head due to his pervert actions that lead him to be punched by Ingrid.

"Gosh… Sora is very lucky to have the professor and the girls at his side…" he whined in a funny voice. "While I keep getting punched on my face for trying to hook up with a girl."

"You tell me, I'm kind of jealous of him, lots of girls are looking after him, but I don't mind, I always knew that somebody like Sora would come to pull me off the top, without even competing against me." Said Claude sharing the same feeling regarding the keyblade wielder. "And about that, he isn't trying to make a girl uncomfortable nor hook up with someone. This is why the future empress, the opera songstress and the teacher like Sora."

"It's pretty hard for me to let go of that bad habit… Claude." Sylvain replied in the same tone. "Maybe Dimitri is right, I should try to make up for it and try new things that don't disturb a woman."

Suddenly a water bull heartless emerged from the sea, interrupting their fun.

"What the hell?" spat Edelgard in annoyance like the others.

"A heartless just ruined our fun!" seconded Dorothea in the same tone.

"Let's deal with that heartless, move!" Byleth commanded her team and moved forward to defeat the monster.

From afar, the other students were watching in shock and awe the battle against the dark creature.

"I pray that those four eliminate that monster, so we can keep having fun." Said Rhea crossing her hands.

Sora summoned the strongest weapon of all the keyblades, the Ultima Weapon, which had a lot of white-red themes through his blade.

And with that, he and the girls performed the Quartzer limit attack to subdue the water heartless once and for all.

"Done." Said Sora satisfied after taking care of the problem.

"You're my hero!" Dorothea expressed happiness hugging him against her breasts.

"Woah, Woah! You're drowning him, Dorothea!" Edelgard tried to break Sora free.

"Sorry, Edie. He's just too cute I wanna hug him like a baby." She replied back refusing to let him go.

"Alright, alright, girls, Sora needs some breathe, okay?" Byleth spoke asking her to let him go.

"Thanks, Byleth." Sora thanked her for setting him free from the songstress grasp. "I needed some air."

However, Byleth place her lips against his, much to the girls' surprise and they didn't waste their time to kiss him as well.

"We glad to have you at your side dear." Said Edelgard in a suggestive tone.

"_Oh god…_" thought Sora being the luckiest guy in the world feeling like a king himself.

**END OF THE OMAKE.**

**/**

**A/N:**

**SO, HOW WAS IT? THIS IS MY FIRST TIME I BRING YOU GUYS AN OMAKE SO I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND LAUGHED AT IT.**

**ANYWAY, I'LL SEE YOU GUYS NEXT CHAPTER.**


	30. Flayn's Kidnapping

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I'm glad you liked it, man.**

**Guest: you just gave me a good idea. I was tempting of including Riku at first but given his role in KH3 Re: Mind, I think it's time for Roxas to shine and have a decent screentime he deserves at some time later in the story.**

**/**

**CHAPTER 29 – FLAYN'S KIDNAPPING**

**Black Eagles Classroom – Afternoon**

Byleth headed to her classroom to talk to the future empress about the relic and everything that happen back at the tower.

"I just came back from speaking to Rhea, Edelgard." She began.

"I assume the archbishop was pleased with your performance. Did you return the Lance of Ruin?" the class representative said.

"No, I didn't hand the weapon over to her, but Sylvain stepped on the middle and obtained the lance." Byleth explained the reason for refusing to obey Rhea.

"I'm glad. Sylvain must be overjoyed as well." Edelgard praised her teacher. "I keep thinking about what Mister Gilbert told us…

"Is it about Miklan?" Byleth knew what her student was talking about.

"Yeah, Miklan was discarded by his family because he was born without a Crest. Eventually, he became a masterful thief and gathered enough ruffians to capture a fortress. Right or wrong, he was a gifted leader. He could have been a great asset to Fódlan. What a waste." Edelgard mentioned his past actions.

"All this greed corrupted him very bad and he ended up like this." Byleth replied in an intriguing tone.

"Indeed, it's true that a Crest can increase your magical abilities and allow you to wield the full might of a Hero's Relic." Edelgard commented in the same manner. "But one cannot measure a leader's worth based solely on whether or not they bear a Crest. There are plenty of talented people in this world without one."

"I… completely agree with you." The teacher agreed with her.

"People believe Crests are blessings from the goddess, that they are necessary to maintain order in Fódlan." The future empress continued.

"Rhea told me something like that." Byleth said.

"Well, People are wrong… Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in." Edelgard gave strong statements in regard to the system. "Their power is granted only to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world."

"For what you say, this system must be very twisted up to go as far to do what those people want and make them suffer." Byleth expressed her opinion having her face written in intrigue. "What if some women are subjected to forced marriages or something?"

"That's where I'm going to. People with Crests would tend to go after women and undergo through arranged marriages and force them to reproduce babies bearing the Crests, that's the pretty screwed up part of that world we all live in, Byleth." Edelgard explained to her the biggest issue of the system, with a notorious disgust in her voice. "Have you ever wondered if the only way to create a truly free world is to dispense with the goddess and Crests?"

"A truly free world without the Crests and the church… this doesn't sound bad…" Byleth articulated imagining a world without oppression under Edelgard's rule.

"Do that, and people will have no choice but to rise and fall by their own merits." Edelgard assumed the outcome from the Crest-free world.

Byleth came to wonder about what if Fódlan didn't have the Crest system and Church running the whole continent and segregating the three countries with different societies and people's class.

Instead, a united Fódlan with no nobles running the continent and people living together.

But that would take a lot of efforts to make this happen.

**/**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY – CAMPUS.**

Sora was wandering around the monastery exploring every corner while thinking about that big problem everyone in Fódlan was running into due to the Crest system and many other factors.

It wasn't until he spotted a light-blue haired girl sitting on a bench talking to some cats, and then she turned her gaze as he sat down beside her, much to her surprise.

"Hi." Sora greeted her.

"H-Hi… Yo-You must be Nomura, right?" the girl replied in bluishness and shyness.

"Yep, and you are…" Sora introduced himself aside of asking her name.

"I-I'm Marianne… Marianne von Edmund." The girl introduced herself back. "You see, I have never talked to people before. I had a very hard time before I came here."

"Really?" Sora asked her out of curiosity.

"Yes. My parents mysteriously died and I was adopted by a distant relative of mines, Margraviate von Edmund. I would normally avoid as many people as I can because, my sole presence would bring them misfortune." Marianne explained her uneasiness in a pessimistic voice. "I'm afraid I could make somebody angry due to my self-deprecation."

"Listen, Marianne… not everybody is gonna have a huge misfortune due to your presence, alright?" Sora spoke trying to cheer her up. "While it is true that we all have our own insecurities, we all learn to get over them and move forward."

"Get over them…" she said in surprise after hearing him say those words, nobody had told her this, not even her own classmates due to her being ignored for a very long time as they didn't hear her speak a word, which meant that she was an outcast of all the Golden Deer students.

And she would remain being like that until she met Sora and had a word with him, it was the moment that she slowly began to let herself be open to the keyblade wielder, something that pushed Marianne to snatch her biggest fears away, at least when he was around.

"I heard that you were capable of finish the monster beneath the monastery… is that true?" she said gathering some courage to try to talk with him.

"Yeah, he was a tough monster, but we finally got to finish him somewhat." Sora genuinely smiled at her.

"I see… you are the strongest warrior that the professor and miss Edelgard have." Marianne praised him for his actions against the Aelfric's heartless.

"That's because… it was something I had to do, to protect my friends, that's it." Sora justified his reasons to become stronger, it wasn't because of wanting to be a keyblade master, but defending his comrades, which was his engine to become what he is right now.

"Um… That's nice of you, Nomura." Marianne replied in shyness and blush.

"You can call me Sora if you want." He invited her to call him by his first name instead of the last one.

"Okay… Sora." Marianne expressed a kind smile at his gest. "You are the first person I speak to."

"Thanks."

"You welcome. I feel like… I can get on you somewhat."

**/**

**TWILIGHT TOWN.**

Roxas had been watching everything that had been going on through Sora's eyes for a long time, since he came back to the world of the living due to being given a body of his own, Roxas had settled in the Twilight Town with Axel and the others living a normal life.

Since Roxas figured out Sora's whereabouts, he, like the others, felt relieved about his 'brother's' wellbeing. However, this came up with a lot of problems, Fodlan was a very far world so it would take few attempts to get there, and this would require a ship with an enough fuel.

And on top of that, Roxas had been having a bad feeling about not only Dimitri, who had been behaving strangely in front of his Blue Lions classmates, but Rhea too, which logically showed some bad omen due to her questionable personality.

He needed to get there, he needed to head to Fodlan to meet with Sora and prevent those people from destroying the world thanks to Young Xehanort and… the unknown and creepy people behind this mess.

So, Roxas felt the necessity to get out of his house and have a walk through some streets in order to clean up his mind while thinking of a way to leave this place.

"Hey Roxas!" Axel waved his hand saying hello.

"Oh, hey Axel, how've you been?" he replied back kindly.

"I'm fine, how bout ya? You seem to be spacing out or something?"

"Me too, well, I've been thinking… You see, I just found out that Young Xehanort is causing troubles in Fodlan…" Roxas said showing his concerns about their old enemy.

"How do you know? If you can explain…" Axel looked curious.

"As Sora's nobody, I can feel what he feels, just as I can watch what he does through his eyes… And because of that, I saw that guy Dimitri behaving disturbingly strange, or somewhat aggressive towards another guy called Felix and the two had a fight, Sora was clever enough to stay away to avoid getting himself in trouble." Roxas pointed out what he noticed on the future king of Faerghus.

"Why would he become infuriated with everyone?" Axel asked him a question. "Is it because of that white-haired jerk in black coat?"

"In part of, yes. But I bet he must have a very dark and bleak past that made him have that livid attitude." Roxas replied.

"A bleak and atrocious past… this could lead someone to have aggressive behavior, if that what you just said is true, then… Young Xehanort must have done something to that man's heart and that Dimitri must be trying to fight the darkness, but what if his violent attitude gets on his way and makes him attack somebody?" Axel gave his point of view regarding Dimitri's attitude.

"That's right, Dimitri's been trying to be nice to everyone, but without being called out by anyone, he turns violent against anybody and breaks stuff, and then a question came into my mind. What if he someday attacks not only Sora but his Black Eagles classmates too?" Roxas expressed concern about Sora's integrity.

"Look dude, Sora is pretty strong now, ya know? He can handle the situation on his own, but if what you say is true, then Young Xehanort is in Fodlan trying to toy with Dimitri and recruit some people to reform the fallen Organization XIII, then it would be logical for any of us to go to that said place to help Sora to overcome any adversity." Axel understood his worrisome face. "The problem is… the power of waking is a risky move and you could get lost and not end up in the said world where Sora is. And building a ship with such lengthy fuel can take much time."

"I'm aware of that, Axel. But I think that Xehanort is willing to take over Fodlan and cover it with the darkness, so I have need to head there and help Sora, he has done too much for us, and I feel like it's my turn to aid him." Roxas expressed his wish to help his 'brother'.

"I see… Sora has broken his back in order to have you and Xion back with all of us, so… I'm sure that you are more than read to break your legs to bring him back." Axel praised his willingness to risk his life to bring Sora back. "If you are willing to get to that medieval world, then be aware that we'll find a way to bring you guys back. Got it memorized?"

"I'll take it into account." Roxas nodded with his head with laughs.

Roxas was willing to likely take a risk of using the power of waking in order to head to Fodlan and aid Sora dealing with Young Xehanort's schemes.

Axel was the first to support his decision, so Xion and the others would soon follow up, even though Roxas would have to give his reasons to do that...

**/**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY – AUDIENCE HALL**

Back to the academy, Byleth headed to the audience hall to be informed about their next mission to carry out.

"Professor, you guys have done well to complete such a difficult task." Rhea praised her for their actions. "You have shown exceptional skill in leading your students. I am forever grateful for the safe return of the Hero's Relic."

"Thank you, I had to make sure of everybody's safety." Byleth replied saying her motives to protect them.

"Just as expected, you have mastered the Sword of the Creator." Rhea said congratulating her for mastering her weapon. "Now then, Byleth, I shall tell you about your mission for the coming month…"

But then, Seteth stepped in the middle in a panicked voice.

"Rhe-Archbishop!" he said in a scared voice.

"Seteth, what's wrong?" she asked a question in surprise.

"Flayn is missing! I can't find her anywhere!" he replied in fear for her life. "Byleth! Have you seen her recently!?"

"I'm sorry, Seteth, I haven't seen her." She admitted not knowing her whereabouts.

"She might be in danger! Oh no… No, no, no! What should I do?!" Seteth said showing signs of panic.

"Calm yourself, Seteth. Professor Byleth, we shall continue our discussion another time." Rhea said asking to focus on important matters. "As I believe you are already aware, Seteth's younger sister, Flayn, has gone missing."

"Has she left the monastery?" Byleth asked a question.

"All we know for certain is that she hasn't left Garreg Mach, she must be somewhere around the monastery." Rhea assured her in regard to Flayn's whereabouts.

"Flayn is not the type of person who would just wander off on her own without telling me where she is going!" Seteth expressed worriedness in a frightened voice. "We have searched the monastery thoroughly, but have found nothing. I am mobilizing the knights to start searching the town. Troubling rumors have been running rampant lately. I do not wish to consider it the worst but…"

"Troubling rumors?" Byleth said in intrigue.

"There are rumors of someone prowling the streets and attacking innocents, night after night." Rhea mentioned the crimes of a certain person that came into Byleth's mind… "The knights have investigated the matter, they have not discovered any remains, nor any concrete evidence."

"The people are panicked! They all insist someone called Death Knight is coming to claim their souls with his blade." Seteth retorted expressing slight paranoia about that man. "There's no way she could have escaped unscathed is she was captured by such a fiend! Where is she?!"

"Listen, Seteth, there's somebody who can face that guy and come out alive." Byleth stated showing optimism about the situation.

"What?! There's no way somebody could survive to that man!" Seteth retorted in almost nervous crisis. "Who coul-!"

"But Sora did." Byleth interrupted him. "Sora faced the Death Knight at Mausoleum and won, you should have faith on his strength."

"Are you sure? How could such a punk-haired teenager face a big danger like that?" Seteth was surprised by the professor's statement.

"Because… he's the strongest warrior I have met. Despite being a teenager, he appears to have a lot of fighting experience, aside of apparently having faced many strong rivals before he came here." Byleth said explaining her student's antecedents and qualities as a warrior.

"So you're telling us… that Sora is capable of facing such a deadly enemy as Death Knight, isn't it?" Seteth expressed amazement asking her a question, which she nodded with her head.

"You have my support. We will devout ourselves fully… mind, body, and soul… to recovering her." Rhea expressed her support towards the teacher. "Professor Byleth. Your mission for this day is to help find Flayn."

"I will, Lady Rhea." Byleth expressed her initiative to go find her.

"The knights have the town covered, so I ask that you focus your efforts on searching the monastery again. We don't have much time to waste. You have your orders."

"Understood."

Byleth set out to leave the audience hall and head to her Black Eagles classroom and tell her students about this.

**/**

**Black Eagles Classroom**

Byleth and her students were discussing about figuring a way to discover Flayn's whereabouts and rescue her from supposed the Death Knight's hands, where were she? Did the Death Knight kidnap her?

"Flayn has gone missing?" Hubert spoke thoughtfully.

"It doesn't seem likely that she's simply gotten lost. I'll help in a way that I can." Edelgard seconded having her face written in concern.

"That's why our task is to find her before anything bad happens to her." Byleth assured them.

"So, our mission of this day is to find her? Well then, let us hurry and locate her before anyone else!" Ferdinand exclaimed showing his noble wannabe attitude.

"Well, it's already up to us to do that, Flayn must be somewhere." Sora remarked him being part of the only house to carry out such task.

"I hope Flayn is OK! What would happen if…" Bernadetta stuttered out of fright about the girl's life.

"You can't think like that, Bern. Seteth would have a heart attack if he heard you." Dorothea asked her to calm down.

"She's right, you should take it easy." Sora agreed with her.

"I've heard that she has a Crest, but I suppose, for this moment, that is irrelevant." Linhardt gave an opinion out of nowhere.

"She's got a Crest too?" the keyblade wielder asked him out of curiosity.

"She does, Sora." Linhardt replied him confirming his question. "Flayn holds a Crest of her own, just like few people around here."

"We'll start by gathering information. Someone must have seen Flayn recently." Hubert suggested his team to begin searching some clues.

"Right. If we work together, I'm certain we'll find her." Edelgard understood his indications.

At this very moment, Sora felt a dark presence surrounding the whole monastery, turning out to be a familiar presence he encountered some time ago, that presence turned out to be Death Knight.

"_You wanted to see me again? Well, you're lucky. Because I… kidnapped that friend of yours. If you want to see her alive, then you have to come to my underground, you can sense my presence, don't you? Then you will know where I'm hiding. You better hurry if you want me to spare her." _Death Knight sent him a life-threating warning through telepathy, he had to move fast if he wanted to get Flayn out alive.

"Sora, are you alright?" Byleth asked him out of concern upon seeing him be mentally assort.

"Ye-Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine." Sora replied in his already five senses. "I think I know where Flayn is."

"Are you sure where she is?" Hubert said out of curiosity.

"Yes. I just felt the Death Knight's presence, and he told me through my mind to head to his hideout… or he will kill Flayn." The keyblade wielder assured his classmates.

"What?! You can't be serious, Sora!" Caspar freaked out in fright of his friend's life or death matter. "Are you sure of where is he holding her hostage?"

"I do, I can sense the darkness within people's hearts, and Death Knight's isn't an exception. He's waiting for me to have another round." Sora let out the reasons to go to that place. "Trust me, since I defeated him last time, it's like I could track down somebody with a bigger darkness within that person. So I can say assure you that we will track Death Knight down and save Flayn."

"Okay class, we will follow wherever Sora leads us to, that's how we helped Yuri and the others, and this is how we will find and rescue Flayn." Byleth indicated her team actions to take.

**/**

Sora and the others went to follow Death Knight's trails thanks to his dark sense skill, what they couldn't believe by the time they found out that place where that dark knight told Sora to head to was no more than the room of his combat professor: Jeritza.

"Seriously? Professor Jeritza's house?" Sylvain was puzzled after reaching to that place.

"_Jeritza… Ah! The combat professor with the mask. He's always been suspicious. We must hurry!" _said Sothis having some knowledge about that man's behavior.

"AAAH!" a female scream was heard across the house.

"Oh shit! Did you all hear that scream?! It came from the Professor Jeritza's house!" Caspar asked them out of worry to get in the house. "Come on, hurry!"

Everyone nodded with their heads and headed to the house to research the whole place, without realizing of the danger that was awaiting them…

**END OF CHAPTER 29**

**/**

**OMAKE/PARODY – TRYING TO SURVIVE THE WARZONE.**

At a very late night hours, Sora was awake playing the recently downloaded Call of Duty: Warzone, a free-to-play battle royale game from the biggest franchise.

He doesn't have a great taste on the battle royale genre, as he finds it boring to play alone, he only likes it when playing with Riku and his friends.

The only reason he began playing Warzone is because Edelgard had invited him to play with her online, and not only that, his own teacher Byleth and Dorothea were also willing to try that new game together.

So what they did was to start the game, make a voice chat group between the four through their PS4 consoles, one of the greatest advantages of having a Free-to-play game was that they didn't have to subscribe to PS Plus, which is mandatory for online multiplayer in every game released in stores.

"So, Sora, are you ready to fight for your life?" Edelgard began as she descended into the battle royale map, precisely into an abandoned building.

"Yeah, I could die among you." Sora replied in a joking tone.

"Not if we watch each other's backs." Dorothea said in the same tone.

"Man, I was out of 1 to win this battle royale round if… I didn't make a ridiculous mistake of falling down from a very high hill." Byleth spoke with frustration on her voice.

"I wonder if Dimitri, Claude are playing this game too." Sora wondered about the guys.

"Don't doubt on them, Claude is a freaking camper and Dimitri goes mad when he's killed in a ridiculous way, or even when somebody takes him down decently. Besides, he always accuses anybody of using aimbot or hacks." Edelgard gave them an explanation as they touched the ground.

"I bet he trash-talks everyone, doesn't he?" Sora was understanding the future empress' explanation. "I think he should chill down and do something else."

As they landed into the abandoned building of Verdansk, the quarter searched around the building to find a box and loot it.

What they found were the m16a2 and MP5 with red dot sight weapons and some armor for them to not be killed quickly.

"I'll grab it." Said Sora as he grabbed the MP5 weapon.

"I'll take mines." Edelgard replied as she took the M16A2 as well.

Dorothea and Byleth went upstairs to look for another lootbox and what they found after they opened it were another weapons, a sniper rifle HDR and an AK-47 with assault Scope.

Byleth opted for the sniper rifle and Dorothea grabbed the assault weapon, now the four were completely armed through their teeth and would do anything to survive this dangerous game.

"Alright, guys, follow me, we will look for places where we can watch our backs in case somebody comes in." Byleth leaded them to the windows where they would over watch the field pointing their weapons at front.

"It's too quiet." Edelgard spoke while checking every corner. "Hold on… I see a movement.

"There is a team coming." Byleth pointed the entire team placing some marks at them. "Let's head down and hide between the columns.

The said team entered the building without knowing that they were already being watched by Byleth and the others.

"Looks clear, I bet that-Ah!" said a guy, who turns out to be Lorenz full of overconfidence before being shot by Sora, who ran for his cover afterwards to avoid taking hits.

**[SoraKingHearts#2002 put ElegantLorenz#3256 down]**

"Fuck you, Lorenz! You told us that the building was clear!" Hilda gabbled in annoyance after being shot down by Edelgard with a headshot.

**[FlameEmperor#5240 put PreciousHilda#1330 down with a headshot]**

Dorothea point her weapon at a guy named Chrom and shot him across his chest and lied him down.

"Man… I shouldn't have listened to this asshole…" he spoke in frustration and dismay after following Lorenz.

**[SongstressDorothy#0033 put ChromAwakening#1778 down]**

Lastly, Byleth went to face a woman named Mathilda and had a fist fight hitting each other with their guns' butt but the teacher was fast enough to shoot few rounds at point blank with her pistol glock 19 and finally take out the last member of the team.

**[BylethEisnerDemon#5598 put MathildaMaster#4178 down]**

"That was quite a fist fight, Byleth!" Sora praised her.

"Awesome!" Dorothea seconded in a cheerful voice.

"That's our teacher." Edelgard expressed the best regards for her.

As the time passes, the gas was shrinking and everybody was forced to have few close encounters and Sora and her friends were barely able to find a place like the top of the tower to watch the whole landscape, and a good one for Byleth to try to snipe someone.

Though, they had to kill few people they saw and could before getting to that place.

Byleth was a sniper who killed many players and gained the reputation as the deadly ghost by the cod community and as the most feared player as well.

"I'll try to snipe anyone, somebody put a claymore at the door." she said getting her rifle ready.

Edelgard placed the claymore at the door in case that someone stormed the place and they had to be wise enough to protect their most important teammate from any enemy player.

Right through the sniper scope, Byleth noticed an intense struggle between some people across a parkway of a giant shopping mall as they were taking cover behind the cars.

"Got cha…" she whispered in a low voice pulling the trigger and firing a bullet towards a man's head named Berkut, much to his shock.

**[Longshot! 355.78M]**

**[BylethEisnerDemon#5598 put CreepyBerkut#3954 down with a headshot]**

"What the… Who the fuck did that?!" Berkut snarled in anger as he saw the killcam, revealing his 'killer'. "No shit! The Deadly Ghost is here?!"

"Say what?!" a blonde man named Clive said in shock and panic after hearing those words. "We better run, we've been cornered! Ah!"

**[Longshot! 363.92M]**

**[BylethEisnerDemon#5598 put ArrogantClive#7754 down]**

**[Longshot! 358.77M]**

**[BylethEisnerDemon#5598 put HinokaHime#5515 down]**

"Damn… that player is good." Said Hinoka as she was eliminated among her team.

Meanwhile, Sora and Edelgard were in the first floor engaging a brutal firefight with two people who turned out to be Lucina and Male Robin, who were both holding their respective shotguns.

**[SoraKingHearts#2002 put MarvelousRobin#4587 down with a headshot]**

As soon as Sora's bullet penetrated Robin's head and killed him, the shotgun shell managed to deplete Sora's health to zero and put him down but not out of the fight.

Edelgard melee-killed Lucina by a brutal bloody stab across her chest with her combat knife and ran towards her teammate to revive him.

**[FlameEmperor#5240 put FutureLucina#8547 down with a melee kill]**

"You're still good, Sora. Get up!" she said reviving him quickly.

"Thank you, Edelgard." He thanked her for saving him.

"You're welcome, come on, let's move up stairs."

The duo went upstairs to rendezvous with Byleth and Dorothea, who were sniping more players.

"Are you guys okay?" the deadly ghost asked them.

"Yeah, we're still in one piece." Sora replied laughing between his teeth.

"Good, cause there's not too many players remaining, looks like it's just us sixteen." Dorothea informed them the game's status.

"We better move, the gas is approaching." Byleth indicated them to move away as she saw the incoming gas getting closer.

The team left the tower and moved throughout the open field while taking cover behind the trees to avoid being seen by an annoying camper.

There, they saw a clash between two teams in an intense firefight, while Byleth and the others were carefully approaching without being seen.

"Hold your fire, let them kill each other, I'll take the last one standing." She instructed them to not fire a weapon until she said so, as not to have their cover blown.

Those two teams were consisted between two familiar factions: Nohr and Hoshido respectively.

"Why did you join Nohr's team, Corrin?!" snarled a man called Ryoma in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry to tell you this but Xander and the others are the ones who I played with very often!" a girl named Corrin replied in the same tone, much to the Hoshido's dismay and the others hard cringe.

"Do they have to fight over a little thing like this?" Sora wondered making a facepalm.

"I will fuck you up!" yelled Takumi in a mad voice as he tried to shoot down Corrin among the Nohr guys.

Xander pulled out an AA-12 shotgun as soon as possible and fired it at Ryoma, who returned fire with a Striker, gravely injuring each other.

**[NohrKingXander#3340 put GloriousRyoma#6312 down]**

**[GloriousRyoma#6312 put NohrKingXander#3340 down]**

"Nii-san!" Takumi exclaimed in shock and mad anger, trying to fire his AK-74. "You'll pay for it!"

"So you will!" Leo, who was holding an AN-94 weapon, fired his grenade launcher attachment and took Takumi out.

**[EvilMasterLeo#4875 put MadTakumi#1411 down]**

Camilla managed to give another woman called Kagero a headshot with her X16 handgun, even though she didn't make it out unscratched, as she had her armor gone due to her gunfight with her.

**[MotherlyCamilla#2356 put HonorableKagero#0032 down with a headshot]**

Niles and Sanzo were running and firing at each other with their UZI and P90 respective weapons until they eventually ran out of ammo and quickly resorted to shoot each other with their desert eagle handguns, however, Sanzo managed to emerge victorious after he shot him down using one last bullet at Niles's head.

**[SanzoTheNinjaMaster#3000 put SneakyNiles#6541 down with a headshot]**

"Niles! You bastard! For my elder brother who gave his life to help us to win this battle royale… I… Leo, the future king of Nohr… will shoot you in the face to win this game!" Leo gave a strong warning aiming his weapon on Sanzo.

"You are gonna lose anyway, man. I'm disarmed as you can see." Sanzo spoke as he showed his clean hands.

"Shut the fuck up. You cannot deceive us, you ninja idiot." Leo didn't want to believe this crap anyway. "I'm gonna make you cr-!

"It's now or never, take the shot!" Byleth commanded her team and they ambushed them firing their weapons at the three, killing them and wiping both teams at once.

"What the hell? How we didn't realize that those idiots were watching?!" spat Leo showing his toxic side. "They must have used hacks!"

"I don't think so, sweety. I heard that Byleth is there and has an excellent team." Camilla replied denying such a claim, telling him that Sora's team were not using hacks.

"But still…"

Most teams were wiped and the gas was taking a final phase covering most of the map and making one last circle, thus forcing the last two teams to have close-combat between each other.

Byleth, Sora, Dorothea and Edelgard got to the Verdansk Gas Station where they were met by the opponent team of certain people they knew very well.

"Claude? Dimitri? Felix? And Sylvain?!" said Sora in surprise, Edelgard wasn't wrong about him being in the game.

"Yo! So you guys have made it so far. That's pretty cool." Claude praised them for sticking inside of the fight, only to point his AR-15 assault rifle at them.

"You guys are excellent players… But we must win this battle!" Dimitri sentenced as he did the same with his AN-94.

"Try it!" Byleth said as she ran along with her team for cover inside the food store to fire back while engaging an intense gunfight between both teams.

Claude tried to sneak behind the store to shoot anyone in the back, but Edelgard looked at her proximity sensor so she knew that anyone of the Dimitri's team could get in, by the time that Claude entered the store, Edelgard was sharp enough to quickly shoot him in the back.

"Got you!" said Edelgard as she shot him dead.

"What an irony… being a cheater only to be stabbed in the back… Well played, princess." Said Claude with a smile before fading away.

**[FlameEmperor#5240 put HillariousClaude#2546 down with a headshot]**

"Sora! Put a claymore on the door, quick!" the girl indicated him the actions to take.

The keyblade wielder quickly placed the claymore at the edge of the front door.

"WE WILL KILL YOU BITCHES!" roared Dimitri as he ran to the store attempting to shoot the entire team.

However, just as they landed a foot inside, the claymore exploded and tore Sylvain and Felix apart, and gravely wounded Dimitri.

**[Double Kill]**

**[SoraKingHearts#2002 put CrimsonFelix#3362 down]**

**[SoraKingHearts#2002 put PlumberSylvain#1333 down]**

"Felix! Sylvain! I will crush you bastards!" snarled Dimitri in a warning and menacing voice pointing his weapon at them, especially Edelgard.

"Too late!" said the girl as she pulled the trigger and fired few rounds through his head, killing him and… wiping the last team.

**[FlameEmperor#5240 put ViolentDima#0032 down with a headshot]**

"FUCK YOU, YOU MOTHER FUCKER! I WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE A WIN WITH MY MATES! FUCK OFF EDELGARD!" Dimitri screamed trash-talking in rage after losing the match against his nemesis. *Throws his controller at the wall in rage.*

**[WARZONE VICTORY!]**

"We did it!" said Sora in happiness after surviving the battle royale game.

"Good shot, Edie!" Dorothea praised Edelgard for being the key of victory.

"Thanks… It's good when your friends got your back." She replied showing a kind smile.

Sora, Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea. Were the last team standing and won the Warzone engaging a lot of difficulties encountering known and dangerous figures watching each other's backs in hopes of winning, which they did.

"I should have some sleep, it's past four in the morning." Said Edelgard in a sleepy voice.

"Me too, my eyes are tiring me." Sora agreed with her.

"It's been a fun ride, see you guys later, good night." Byleth bid her farewell before signing out.

"Good night." Sora, Dorothea and Edelgard replied before each other signing out.

Each and every one of them turned off their respective PS4s and fell asleep, hoping to sign in and play together again.

**END OF THE OMAKE/PARODY**


	31. Sora vs Death Knight Round II

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners**

**Guest: Of course, Marianne will gain some confidence once she knows Elsa's story from Sora's perspective. And yes, Roxas is gonna have a limit attack with Sora while in Double Form as well, those two would break anything together.**

**Kival737101: There are a lot of female candidates to join Sora's army, Marianne is a very high example of this due to obvious reasons we know. **

**CHAPTER 30 – SORA VS DEATH KNIGHT ROUND II**

**/**

**TWILIGHT TOWN – NOON**

While Sora was following the trace of the Death Knight to track down Flayn, Roxas had spoken with Axel and Xion about heading to Fodlan to look for Sora and help him out dealing with Young Xehanort and the others.

"Are you sure, Roxas?" Xion was aware of this dangerous act that her friend was willing to do. "The power of awakening is a risky move and it randomly deploys you anywhere, to get to Fodlan is a matter of luck."

"I know, but I just can't stand still without doing anything, Xion. Xehanort is back and he's trying to covert Fodlan in darkness, what if Sora gets knocked down and gets pulled into a long slumber? Somebody has to repel every Xehanort and those… creepy creatures slithering in the dark's actions." Roxas expressed concern about Sora's wellbeing. "He has done a lot for us, and now it's my turn to return him the big favor."

"You right, if it wasn't for Sora, we wouldn't have been able to remember you as of now, man." Hayner understood his friend's words.

"Yeah, it is thanks to him that we're back and remember Roxas." Xion acknowledged Sora's actions. "So, you want to return the favor to Sora, right? I remember that King Mickey had a ship which can travel to any world but it requires a pit stop in order to refill the gas, you should talk to him."

"I see, how I could not do this at the first place." Roxas said putting out his gummiphone to try to contact the majesty. "I hope he picks up the phone…"

And they waited for few moments until…

"Hello?" said Mickey as he picked up the gummiphone while looking at the face cam. "Roxas? How have you been?"

"Fine, your majesty, how about you?" he replied in a nice tone.

"Me too, what is it?"

"Well, you see… I've been thinking of heading to Fodlan and Xion told me that you keep a ship that can travel to any world with any trouble, so… I know this is gonna sound weird but…"

"I knew this was would happen sooner or later... Yes, I do keep the ship… for emergency only." Mickey affirmed his own words figuring out Sora's nobody's words. "Do you want to use it, right?"

"Y-Yes, I do, king Mickey. I have a bad feeling about this and I think Sora's gonna be in trouble if I don't get there as soon as possible, Young Xenanort is back, and what I saw right through my friend's eyes terrified me. So please, your majesty, it's a matter of life or death." Roxas begged the king to let him use the ship, he had to go there. To protect Sora.

"If what you say is true, then I don't have a choice to let you use the ship, but I must tell you that there's only one seat inside so… Do you still want to go?" Mickey warned him of setting up his journey on his own.

Roxas thought about it for a few seconds… If he went ahead, then he would leave his friends behind and have to set out his journey on his own, but as he

"Roxas, I'm pretty sure you're gonna be fine." Axel cheered him up to set out his adventure in that medieval world. "If you ever meet with Sora, give him my regards."

"We'll be waiting for your return." Olette did the same.

"We promise that we'll reunite together, Roxas." Xion gave him a hug, just like the others together.

"Guys… I'll miss you so much." Roxas said while crying together, but having his head up.

"We too, Roxas. Promise me that you will stay safe." Xion was bidding him his farewell asking him to have a safe journey.

"I will Xion. Axel, tell everyone that I left for Fodlan." Roxas assured her and asked his male friend to give everyone the news.

"Will do, man." The red-haired man shook hands with his friend's and hugged each other. "If you ever meet a cute girl, you could introduce her to me." He said jokingly, only to feel a light punch in his stomach. "Xion!"

"Thanks you guys, see you." Roxas bided his farewell as he headed out to Disney Castle.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Olette asked about his wellbeing.

"Of course he will! Roxas can take care of himself, remember?" Hayner assured her in a cheerful voice praising his actions.

"I know he will survive, we know him enough." Axel also expressed his faith on their dear friend.

**/**

**DISNEY CASTLE – HANGAR.**

Roxas headed to Disney Castle wearing his iconic black coat outfit in order to hide his identity, although he didn't have the coat on at this time in order to not fright anyone there.

"Welcome, Roxas." The King Mickey greeted him standing still with the said ship behind him. "Are you ready to face dangerous situations?"

"I am, your majesty." Roxas understood the biggest problem that he would have to face from now on.

"Very well, Roxas… Chip and Dale optimized the ship so you can travel to Fodlan without any problem, I'll give you just a little advice." The King Mickey gave him green light to use his ship, not before telling him something else. "In order to head there, you gonna have to stay in any world you want to settle so the ship will take its time to recharge the gas and then you will resume your travel. Which means you gonna struggle a lot and deal with many issues you encounter."

"If it is for Sora, then I'm more than ready to face such troubles." Roxas knew where he was getting himself into. He had to spend some time in a world to have the ship refill enough gas, but then, he would get himself caught in a middle of a medieval war. However, thanks to his keyblade powers, he's been capable of defending himself and the others, so it wouldn't be a big deal for him to handle such situation.

"I like that attitude, my friend." King Mickey showed the stairs to inside the ship. "Once you close the cockpit, your journey begins… Good luck."

"Thanks, your majesty, I'll be heading off." Roxas said good bye after walking upstairs to get in the ship.

"See you later, when you get to Fodlan, give my regards to Sora." Mickey replied biding his farewell upon watching go.

The ship disappeared in a light speed through the sky, probably to the space searching for the said world in hopes of finding Sora…

**/**

**UNKNOWN LOCATION - GRAVEYARD**

After traveling for a long time, Roxas apparently landed in a medieval world which, as he expected, was not Fodlan but anywhere else alike.

He landed in a place where it appeared to be a graveyard in cloudy and horrific environment.

"Looks spooky as Jack Skellington's world, but this place is quite frightening…" Roxas said as he scanned the whole area putting out his two keyblades and putting on his black hood in order to hide his identity from anyone.

And then, he saw few people walking around the graveyard from afar, but suddenly, few skeleton monsters emerged from the ground, those were horror-looking unlike the Heartless, Nobodies nor the unversed, besides, those people started their struggle for their lives, and he knew very well he had to do what he knew the best…

"I gotta aid those guys!" Roxas said as he entered in dark mode and went lightspeed… to begin his adventures in that world.

**/**

**JERITZA'S HOUSE**

Back to Fodlan, Sora and the others entered to Jeritza's house to inspect every corner of his room to find a few clues of what happened inside.

"Any luck?" Sora asked them.

"Nope." Ferdinand said no shaking his head. "We haven't found any evidence."

They all were trying to find anything that could help them track down Jeritza with no avail until…

"He does not seem to here…" Hubert also affirmed them when he suddenly saw something on the floor. "On the ground! Professor Manuela!"

"What?!" Sora turned his head towards her lying down the floor. "Manuela! What happened to her?"

"Is she injured?" Byleth asked out of concern to her wellbeing.

"She's unconscious, guys. Someone clearly attacked her." Edelgard replied them in the same voice tone.

"Look at her hand." Hubert pointed out at the woman's hand. "It looks as though she's pointing at something… There."

Sora then felt the Death Knight's presence lurking from the said place coming the opening behind that shelf, a secret passageway to be exactly.

"I think we found him." He affirmed his classmates having his face written in determination.

"There's an opening behind that shelf. Perhaps a secret passageway…" said the future empress pointing that biggest and important clue they had just found.

"Let's head inside then." Byleth agreed with her student and they all were to get inside the passageway when… a visit suddenly came to the house.

"What's the meaning of… Wait, is that Manuela?!" Hanneman was about to scold everyone when he saw Manuela in shock. "What happened here?!"

"Somebody attacked her from behind, mister Hanneman." Byleth let him know about the incident.

"And we are investigating." Sora seconded in the concerned tone.

"We know as much as you do. She needs to be taken to the infirmary." Edelgard advised him to rush her to the be cured there.

"Yes, of course… and quickly. Give me a hand, child." Hanneman accepted her advice, besides requesting her support.

"Understood. I'll support her head." The future empress accepted to help him out.

"Wait, I wanna help too." Sora requested to join in.

"Sora, don't. They will need you down there, go with them, please." Edelgard denied asking him to help the others. "There's no one else like you who could be a match for Death Knight, it's you whom he wants after all. I know you can defeat him. I'll be back shortly. Please be careful."

"Okay, be careful too." Said Sora heading back to the scene with his class.

Sora was wondering on why Edelgard wouldn't let him help carrying Manuela to the infirmary, anyway, there was no time to waste, they had to track down Death Knight and rescue Flayn quickly before it was too late.

"Does this mean Professor Jeritza did it? Could he have also have kidnapped." Caspalr assumed the actions.

We should start by investigating this passageway. Do you agree, professor?" Hubert suggested starting to make research.

"Good choice, we must see what we got down there, let's go." Byleth agreed to investigate the area.

**/**

**UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAY**

The Black Eagles went downstairs to head to the secret passageway with purpose of investigating the area in hope to find any clue of Flayn's whereabouts and Death Knight's as well.

"I never would have imagined… Hm?" Hubert was saying when he noticed something at front of him. "I see someone. They are unconscious."

"Is it… Flayn?" Sora said as noticing her through a certain distance.

"Yes, and there is someone else too. It appears to be another student." Hubert affirmed him.

"Someone's coming!" Caspar gasped upon recognizing the dark and creepy figure approaching them. "I recognize that scythe and mask… it's that idiot we fought at the Holy Mausoleum!"

"Death Knight! I knew you would be here! Let the girls go!" Sora demanded him to set the girls free.

"I'm glad you came here, you young boy… I must let you know that I haven't put any harm on your precious friend… And that woman who is your teacher must have that sword… that sword which she obtained at the mausoleum. But enough talking. One of us will die, the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation." Death Knight gave a threating declaration while letting out an evil laugh.

"He's crazy." Said Ashe looking creeped out.

"Guys, go and set Flayn and the girl free, I'll face him." Sora said as he put out his Oblivion keyblade, ready to face the Death Knight.

"Okay, Sora, be careful. Let's go my students!" Byleth agreed before heading to the passageway's dungeon to look for Flayn.

Death Knight got off the horse and walked few steps towards the keyblade wielder, ready to engage another superb battle between the two.

Sora and Death Knight clashed their weapons creating an immense wave between both and glaring at each other with so many intensity. Death Knight swung the scythe to behead his opponent but Sora quickly dodge-rolled aside and gave few slashes onto the waist.

Then, the two engaged an intense dance of slashes hitting each other, however, they both were apparently wearing down. Despite Death Knight landing few slashes on his opponent, Sora was still standing on his feet, it looked like he had a lot of power remaining within his heart despite having been enduring every hard battle he faced up until now.

This is what Death Knight liked, a warrior with an iron will and required skills to endure hard and tough battles like this.

"Seems we are very alike… young man." Death Knight praised him admiring his strength.

"Looks like it." Sora acknowledged his statement, before entering in Double Form. "Let's who's the best!"

"Very well… there can be only one winner in this duel!" Death Knight accepted his challenge. "DIE!"

Sora and Death Knight charged and brutally hit each other with their respective weapons and they stood still for a few moments until…

"Uggh…" Death Knight let out a grunt feeling a sharp pain on his abdomen. "It turns out you are the strongest rival I have ever faced… Tell me… How can you have… so much power and deal with strongest enemies knowing that they could kill you?"

"Because… my friends are my power. I have to help and protect them." Sora replied giving his reasons to be stronger as before.

"I see… I'm looking forward to become stronger and face you again someday." Death Knight understood his motives and stated his intend to face him again. When suddenly, his mask started to crumble.

"Halt. You're having a bit too much fun." The man with red-white mask appeared from nowhere.

"Who are you?!" Sora interrogated him.

"You're getting in the way of my game." Death Knight demanded him to stay away.

"Hmph. You'll have more opportunities to play soon." The masked man said asking him to go.

And not only that, another man appeared aside of the mysterious masked man, that man whom Sora identified very well.

"Xehanort!" the keyblade wielder said in surprise upon seeing the young version of his nemesis. "What are you doing here!?"

"We meet again, Sora." Said Young Xehanort in menacing voice. "I never knew that you're still alive after losing yourself and ending up here. You are a goddamn MVP."

"What'd you come here for?! To steal somebody's hearts?!" Sora demanded him to answer his question berating him.

"Exactly… there's somebody with a very dark and bleak past who is the most ideal candidate to take part my organization I will rebuild." Young Xehanort stated his intentions. "I do this because you ruined our plans to open the Kingdom Hearts and you humiliated me in front of everybody."

"It was because you were doing bad things, and I had to stop you." Sora explained his reasons to crash his nemesis's plans. "And I would do it over again if necessary!"

"You have guts, boy." Young Xehanort replied in sarcasm. "Never mind, I'll do something better to make a big mess for you, you jerks."

"We cross paths again. I am the Flame Emperor… it is I who will reforge the world." The masked man introduced himself to Sora and everyone. And then he disappeared along with the others.

"Flame Emperor? Rather worrisome that he sounds intent on showing up again." Linhardt said as he showed up among everybody carrying Flayn.

"Are you OK, Sora?" Ferdinand asked him.

"Yes, I'm okay." He affirmed him. "How's Flayn and the girl?"

"I think they both are doing fine, let's carry them up." Hubert indicated the measures to take while walking upstairs.

**/**

**JERITZA'S ROOM**

The group headed back to Jeritza's room to lie Flayn and the girl in the bed so Linhardt could check them up.

"They are pale, and their pulses are slow… Still, I don't believe their lives are in danger." He informed them about their health state.

"You found Flayn?" Where?!" Edelgard came in to the room in surprise.

"You missed the most important part of the mission! We found her within that secret passage, Sora wasn't wrong to assume that they held the girls captive down there." Ferdinand gave her the information. "The culprits were the Death Knight and… what was his name? Ah, the Flame Emperor, and this mysterious white-haired guy in black coat."

"All that matters is Flayn's safety. Right, Sora, Byleth?" Edelgard said satisfied about their actions.

"Yes, we glad we made it in time to get them to the safety." Byleth agreed with her.

"We will take them to the infirmary." Suggested Hubert. "Please, inform Seteth, Professor."

Hubert, and the others took Flayn and the girl to the infirmary leaving the quads behind.

"Whatever the circumstance, I'm glad Flayn is safe. Though I'm curious to find out who that other girl is…" said Edelgard with curiosity, only to watch her teacher smile, something that made her have an odd feeling. "Huh? Byleth, is that… a smile?"

"What do you mean, Edelgard?" the teacher replied expressing curiosity.

"I mean… you look happy and cheerful. I don't think I have seen you like this before." Edelgard tried to explain her, feeling her heart melting out the ice within her. "Anyhow, we should hurry to Seteth. He must be beside himself by now."

"Right." Finalized Dorothea as the four headed out Seteth's Office.

**/**

**SETETH'S OFFICE**

Sora, Edelgard, Dorothea and Byleth headed to Seteth's Office to tell him the good news about his sister.

"Professor… guys… Please, allow me to express my eternal gratitude once more. Flayn is safe and sound, and I have you to thank for that." He expressed joy after seeing his sister being brought to the safety. "Mere words could never express how thankful I am. I…I am indebted to you guys."

"Thanks, Seteth. We had to do anything to protect her." Byleth assured him with a smile.

"Yes, indeed. I…I, too am overjoyed." He replied in the same tone.

"But… why was Flayn taken to begin with?" Sora asked him a question.

"Her kidnapper was the masked knight you faced during the Rite of Rebirth. The one known as the Death Knight." Seteth started to explain the situation.

"Indeed, he wanted a well-worth warrior." Sora affirmed him his words, leading Seteth to understand that he really had faced the Death Knight.

"I have to admit that you have guts to face such a dangerous foe. Considering the circumstances, it seems plausible to assume that his true identity is Jeritza. And we cannot forget about the mysterious Flame Emperor… His true motives are yet unclear."

"Professor Jeritza… Why would he become Death Knight?" Sora was intrigued by his own teacher's murderous actions.

"I'd suggest you don't question him for now. OK?" Edelgard advised him to not interrogate Jeritza for a very while, to which he shook his head.

"However, I have an idea. I believe the enemy may have been after Flayn's blood." Seteth continued. "The blood that flows through her veins is special. It is extremely rare… and extremely dangerous. If enemies who know the secrets of Flayn's blood have appeared, our only option is to leave the monastery and go into hiding."

Ok, Seteth seemed paranoid about his sister's life in danger and he had only choice and was to leave the academy and go somewhere far, far away. But then what? The monsters would eventually find them and… they both wouldn't survive this massacre.

"Brother, wait." Flayn came to the office interrupting the conversation.

"Flayn?! What are you doing here? You should be resting!" Seteth asked her to go back to the bad.

"I do not like the path of your thoughts. I do not wish to live in some lonely, remote location where I never get to see anyone. Not ever again." Flayn expressed sadness and worrisome, while turning her gaze to Sora saying that latter.

"If we stay here, you may be targeted again! Wouldn't be better for the two of us to live in peace?" Seteth protested out of concern about her life, he was right to be worried about his only family he had, but his sister had an apparently better idea.

"Even if we ran off to some new, secret location, there is no guarantee that they would not find us." Flayn explained him her real reasons to not move out. "That is why I believe it would be the safest to stay in the monastery, where we are surrounded by capable knights and professors."

"I see your point, I do. However…" Seteth tried to protest but his sister interrupted him.

"You know it is the only reasonable option. What if I were to join the professor's class?" Flayn stated her desire to join her class.

"That's a great idea, Flayn!" Byleth expressed happiness after hearing her say that.

"You think so too? I am so very pleased to hear that!" the girl was overjoyed with her professor's words. "With a professor like you nearby, I shall be safe no matter what foe should appear!"

"I see. I am afraid you have a good point." Seteth sighed in defeat. "Professor, Sora, due to my position, I have closely scrutinized everything about you two. After all that has happened, I must admit that you both are indeed… trusted allies. So, what you say? Can I entrust you guys with Flayn's safety?"

"Of course! Let it to us, Seteth!" Sora expressed enthusiasm in having her at his class.

"It shall be my pleasure." Byleth also accepted his request.

"_I am so glad that Flayn is safe. Yet I can't help but wonder what the story is about that other girl." _Sothis spoke through Byleth's mind. "_By the way, I never thought that your cute student Sora would be a strong rival against Death Knight."_

"_Me neither, but Sora is a strong warrior I'm been teaching to, followed by Dorothea and Edelgard, I think I'm their most strongest inspiration for many people who want to become strong."_ Byleth replied recognizing her qualities as a teacher. _"And, I don't know who is the other girl as well, Sothis."_

"_She wore the uniform of the academy. But who is she? This is what we all want to know."_

Who was this red-haired girl? What was she doing in the monastery?

**END OF CHAPTER 30 **

**/**

**OMAKE/PARODY – POP OFF AT MORTAL KOMBAT TOURNAMENT**

Dimitri had been struggling to become the number one Mortal Kombat player by defeating everyone he faced, he shred sweat, blood and tears to get where he was, among the best elite players.

Until of course, he ran into someone who would make his life impossible.

Claude was one of the best fighting players, just like Dimitri, but he had a dark and secret strategy to defeat anyone. How? By setting up his schemes to cheat any rival and win.

Claude had seen a match in which Dimitri defeated a fellow elite fighting player named suzukazekills.

But the problem began when Claude posted on his twitter account KhalidClau97 insulting Dimitri's efforts to defeat that man, assuming that suzukazekills were sent to the losers, and Dimitri, under his twitter name MadFaerDima, replied in anger questioning his nemesis if he was discrediting him due being underestimated, or that's what he thought.

In other words, they both had a heated beef between them insulting each other.

They finally settled up their match to see who's the stronger of the two at the finals if they both made it, which they did and finally the two were face to face.

"I will fuck you up, Khalid." Dimitri spoke having his face with determination.

"Keep talking, fella. You will never win against me." Claude replied chilling out.

"We'll see, bitch." Dimitri finalized right before sitting down aside his rival as they were setting up the game.

Dimitri chose Sub Zero while Claude grabbed Scorpion and the battle began.

The two were equal in terms of skill and strength between both, they defeated each other one by one round of difference, the third and last round would decide everything so Dimitri and Claude gave all of their best, the two didn't let hurt each other easily.

It was at this moment when both had their health bar almost depleted to zero due to kicking each other's asses.

Claude tried to land one last hit on Dimitri, but he quickly dodge his attack and he leaped above his opponent and landed a brutal finishing move dropping with a strong kick onto his face and… defeated Claude shutting his mouth. And then, a louder pop-off broke out as Dimitri stood up and yelled at his rival.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?! HUH! HOW'D LIKE THAT YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Dimitri screamed at him in mad voice onto his face. "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING LOUSY CONCEITED, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"

Suddenly, Dimitri let out not only one middle finger on Claude but two as well, as a response, the brown-skinned man did the same as well and insulted each other.

They were about to have an brawl if not for the Blue Lions and Golden Deer crews who quickly stopped the both hot-headed rivals and retreated…

**END OF OMAKE/PARODY.**

**/**

**Thank you people for enjoying this story i've been bringing you for some time and for reaching more than 100 alerts and favorites among this comunity. **

**Anyway, i have few news for you, Roxas will appear and join the Black Eagles to aid Sora and the others, but... he won't come alone... he will be joined by another Fire Emblem character, which I will reveal at the end of the next chapter so stay tuned! See ya!**


	32. Making Preparations

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I have only one clue of which world Roxas is: Fire Emblem, and yeah, is a female who travels and is paired with him. The name of that girl will be revealed at the end of this chapter, and so the FE world too.**

**CHAPTER 31 – Making Preparations**

**/**

Two days had passed since Flayn's kidnapping and rescue, who had made her choice to stay in the monastery and join Byleth's class to be under her protection.

Dimitri and Manuela were still being recovering in the infirmary from their respective incidents by their respective attackers' hands and were being attended by Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Byleth went to the audience hall to talk to Rhea about something important, a really important thing with some kind of tradition of Fodlan.

"Well done, Byleth. I see that I was right to ask your class for assistance. I have been told that Manuela and Flayn are recovering nicely, as is Monica." Rhea began.

"Who's Monica?" Byleth asked.

"Monica, the girl you rescued along with Flayn, is also a student of the Officers Academy. However…" the archbishop explained.

"She is a student from last year's class. She went missing just before she would graduated." Hanneman also gave her further details. "It never occurred to us that something might have happened to her at the monastery. We assumed she had run away. I never dreamed that we would find her. Not like this."

They had found really odd to find Monica in a dangerous situation like this, nobody had idea of her whereabouts or how she disappeared from their sight, something really bad had happened for her to disappear like this.

"Monica has asked to rejoin the Black Eagles once she has fully recovered." Rhea stated her intend to rejoin Sora's team, to Byleth's puzzlement.

"She did?" she said out of intrigue.

"Yes, our enemies are still out there, so we must remain cautious, and continue our investigation." Rhea assured her aside of asking her to be careful. "However, we must also help the students to move on from this incident."

"After all, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion will be held in Gronder Field next month." Hanneman reminded the teacher of the incoming most important event of their lives.

"Yes. The students will remember it for the rest of their lives." Rhea coincided with him. "Please guide them so that they may show us their best at the coming battle."

"I will do my best." Byleth agreed.

**/**

**GARREG MACH HALLWAY.**

Meanwhile, Sora, Edelgard and Dorothea were walking around the hallway talking about the upcoming Battle of the Eagle and Lion match.

"So let me get this straight, are we gonna battle everybody, including the Blue Lions and Golden Deer as well, right?" Sora asked them out of curiosity.

"Basically, I know it may sound crazy if you think about it, but is a tradition we all have as students every year. It's like the mock battle but at a large scale." Edelgard mentioned him important information about this event.

"I see… there's gonna be a lot of people beating each other up everywhere." Sora knew where she was going to.

"That's what the Battle of the Eagle and Lion is about. But there something else I want to share with you." Said Edelgard. "The fourth house is going to participate as well, it's the White Tiger house."

"White Tiger?! I thought that the Ashen Wolves were the fourth house?" Sora was surprised by the news.

"Yep, but those new guys own the fourth house now." Dorothea assured him. "Rumors say that they have very strong people in there."

"Strong people…" Sora intuited her words thinking about many possibilities… Could it be Aqua? No, she, Ven and Terra had been looking for him to no avail. Yozora? That could be a big possibility. Cloud? Well, he would have been in the monastery's underground with his people, who knows?

"I can tell that you're thinking about those guys, am I correct?" Edelgard realized that he was thinking about those people.

"Exactly, I would love to meet them soon." Sora affirmed her.

"Well, you're gonna meet them at the battle, for now we must spend our day off, shall we?" Dorothea hugged him by an arm.

Edelgard hugged him too as well, as she didn't want to stay behind.

Sora couldn't be anymore lucky having two ladies at his side, but it was to scare off any crazy girl who wanted to have a date with him. While walking around the campus, they found Marianne giving some food to the birds.

"Marianne! Hey." Sora greeted her.

"Oh… Hello, Sora, lady Edelgard, and you are…" Marianne replied back in a little cheerful tone.

"Oh, my name's Dorothea, nice to meet you." She introduced herself. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine, thank you… I have been thinking…" Marianne said as she finished giving food to the birds.

"About what?" Edelgard asked her out of curiosity.

"I… I have been thinking about transferring to your house, lady Edelgard." Marianne gave the biggest statement to everyone's surprise.

"Are you going to join us, Marianne?!" Sora expressed amusement after hearing the news with a smile on his face.

"Yes, Sora. It's because… you are the first one who I opened to, and understand me." Marianne expressed gratitude of his kind manner to her. "I had a lot of insecurities, much insecurities until we met."

"I also had met somebody who had the same problems as you, but it was because of her ice powers." Sora brought this up remembering Elsa, the queen of Arendelle.

"Really? Who was it?" Dorothea looked at him with curiosity.

"Elsa, she didn't know how to control her ice powers until I met and help her to overcome her fears and control her powers, and I believe Marianne can overcome her own problems too." Sora explained to them.

"I see… I can feel how my confidence starts rising slowly…" she said cheering herself up.

"Indeed." Edelgard expressed gratitude after watching her smile for the first time. "Anyway, we will tell Byleth that you're gonna join our House."

"I appreciate it." Marianne thanked her.

That's right, Marianne made up her choice to leave the Golden Deer to join Black Eagles, it's not that she hated Claude and the others, but because she needed to fresh up and experiment something new to her. But the most important thing is that she needed someone who she could trust and open up with.

**/**

**CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS**

Byleth met with her father Jeralt at his office to talk about the upcoming battle between every house, all while Sora and the others were having their day off.

"So, you'll be going to Gronder Field next month. You've never been there before, have you?" Jeralt began.

"That's right, father." Byleth admitted it.

"There is unease in the western side of the Empire, but everything east of the capital, Enbarr, is stable. Well, there was a noble rebellion a short while ago, but it didn't amount to much."

"Will you come to the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, father?" Byleth asked him if he would go and watch them.

"Sorry, daughter, but I've got my own mission, and it's far from Gronder Field." Jeralt denied moving his head. "The church has always been quick to make use of those who work for them. What I'm concerned about is finding out who among us is pulling the strings."

"Who could be those people? Must it be this Xehanort or something?" Byleth asked him a question out of concern.

"I'm not sure, Byleth, but it's more like it. Ever since the Rite of Rebirth, strange groups among him have been seen around Garreg Mach, and elsewhere too." Jeralt gave her an intriguing comment regarding Young Xehanort and other people lurking in the shadows. "There was also an incident where some knight investigating these suspicious strangers… turned up strange dark and creepy creatures."

"The heartless… these are the ones we have been fighting." Byleth knew what his father was talking about.

"Not that it's likely, but if something like that ever happens to me…" Jeralt said like he was having to have the same fate as those people. "Search this room. Every corner. Behind every shelf. I'm going to leave something for you.

"Dad, don't say that, please!" Byleth said in concern about her father's life. "Please… don't…"

He couldn't blame her for worrying about him, she was the only one he's had left after his wife Sitri died.

"Hey, hey… Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of dying. Okay?" Jeralt comforted her. "I know it would be too much to ask you to cheer up, but can you at least drop the serious… Well, I'll be. Was that a smile just now?

It was the first time that Byleth smiled at her father, while it was true that she expressed a kind and genuine smile at Sora and the others, it wasn't until that moment when she did the same with her father as well.

"Father… can you promise me that you will be fine?" Byleth asked him to keep his promise.

"I will, Byleth. I will." Jeralt replied in the same manner.

**/**

Elsewhere, Sora and the girls were hanging out in the campus talking about anything that it isn't worth to mention, and then they ran into Byleth.

"Hey, Byleth!" Sora greeted her.

"Oh, hey Sora! Girls!" she greeted them back. "You must be Marianne, right?"

"Yes… professor Byleth, is it?" Marianne affirmed before asking her name.

"That's right. So… What is it?" Byleth did the same aside of asking them a question.

"You see… um… I would like to transfer to your class, professor." Marianne gathered courage to ask her to join their house.

"Join our class?" Byleth looked surprise by her statement.

"Yeah, I saw how stronger you are, guys. And I want to become confident like you." Marianne stated her reasons to change her attitude.

"Okay, Marianne… I will tell your professor Manuela that you are going to join our house." Byleth agreed to have her transferred to her class.

"Thank you, professor." Marianne thanked her with a smile.

"Isn't it that great? You're gonna join us!" Sora said showing his usual cheerful smile.

"Th-Thanks, Sora." Marianne looked blushed and smiled at him back.

Byleth went to the infirmary to tell Manuela about Marianne's transferring to her class, much to her surprise.

"So do you wanna have her at your house?" Manuela asked her the question in that tone. "It must be that she finally found somebody to speak to, right?"

"Something like that, Marianne said that Sora is the first person who she opened up to." Byleth explained her soon-to-be student's real reasons to change sides.

"So this little pretty boy came to speak to her… interesting…" Manuela said in a teasing and suggestive voice. "Okay… let's sign some papers to have her join your house, shall we?"

"Alright." Byleth accepted and that's how they settled things and signed some papers to finally have Marianne join the Black Eagles.

**[Marianne joined your house]**

**/**

Elsewhere, at the monastery's training zone, Sora and Edelgard were sparring with their respective weapons while Mercedes, Annette, Dorothea and Marianne were watching.

"To think that Sora has endured many battles and survive… how admirable." said Mercedes admiring his strength and Edelgard's.

It was like Sora and Edelgard were grinding their strength together so they could beat anybody at their sight, even if that includes Claude, Dimitri, or the mysterious White tiger representative.

"Looks like you're good at having reflexes." Edelgard gave him a good point after clashing her weapon against her friend's.

"You too, seems we're unstoppable together." Sora replied jokingly.

"Don't get exaggerated, my friend, we all have strengths and weaknesses." Edelgard joked too while continuing to spar each other.

Both of them kept sparring until they started to look tired but did exactly what they wanted to do, to gain enough strength to defeat everybody in the battle of eagle and lion.

After that, Marianne proceeded to demonstrate her powers, starting with her Aeroga power which created a strong wind around them. Which prove her to be the most capable magic user.

**/**

**ONE DAY LATER…**

Byleth and their students headed to the Alps to begin their training for the upcoming battle against everybody at the Gronder field.

What they did was to have a sparring with each other such as Byleth and Dorothea, and even Sora and Edelgard.

**With the Blue Lions**

Dimitri had recovered himself from his incident with Xehanort and taken a rest for the day and currently was training with his classmates to face Sora and the others.

"You look determined, Dimitri." Said Felix glaring at him intensely after clashing his weapon against his classmate's.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure Sora must be training to face all of us." He assured him recognizing his strength.

"No wonder that he holds kinds of supernatural powers." Felix commented thinking about Sora's keyblade. "I might want to see what that mysterious keyblade does.

"Are you sure? Sora will tear you apart in a second." Dimitri warned him while clashing their weapons.

"It doesn't matter, I just want to see how capable he is." Felix said in determined voice. "I have always had the desire to have a sword duel with him."

"Fine, do your best when you encounter him." Dimitri wished him luck.

"Same for you, Dimitri." He replied in the same voice while clashing their weapons and dodging mutually.

**With the Golden Deer**

Claude and his classmates were doing their own thing to train themselves to get ready as well, Lorenz looked way anxious to face Sora again and take revenge on him for his loss in the mock battle.

"I never thought that Sora would dare to practice using a common sword with his teacher and the princess, I mean, he didn't need to since he's got that mysterious keyblade to deal with everybody without running down a sweat." Claude said in mocking tone about his methods that Sora would use in battle.

"I can tell that he wants to play fair and square, Claude." Leonie commented while training with her bow, just like his classmate. "Sora is a guy who wishes to become on what his teacher is, a mercenary.

"A mercenary, huh?" the brown-skinned boy intuited her words looking enthusiastic. "Then I have to watch out for that guy and his cute teacher…"

"What? Are you afraid?" Leonie said mocking him due to being 'scared'.

"Afraid? Me? Nah, I'm just taking precautions, partner." Claude defended himself from that joke. "And by the way, I heard that Marianne left our class."

"She did? Where did she go?" Leonie asked him the question.

"I think… she joined the Black Eagles." Claude assured her.

"Really? Then there must be a good reason for her to join in." Leonie said out of amusement. "I take that Sora is the first person who she has spoken to, isn't it?"

"Think so." Claude finalized as they resumed their training.

**/**

Back to the Black Eagles, everybody was focused on their training and Sora was not the exception. He was focused on training with his new steel sword along with Byleth and Edelgard.

They were being taught and trained to defend themselves from any threat in many ways, like predicting any attacker's movement and counterattacking it.

They did swing their respective weapons and dodged each other's attacks as they were sparring together. Byleth saw a lot of her students' improvement on their strength and defense techniques. They were really learning faster.

Sora took his time to get used to wield a normal weapon intending to play fair and square against everyone in Gronder Field and he would only use his keyblade in case he encountered someone stronger in the amidst of the battle.

Each and everybody was determined to win and not lose… Edelgard, Sora, Dimitri, Claude and this mysterious fourth House representative were undergoing rigorous and intense training to prove themselves who is the strongest of the houses.

"That's good, Sora! Keep it up!" Edelgard congratulated him for using reflexes to counter her ax attack.

"Same!" he replied in enthusiastic voice.

And they kept going on for days, many days… aside of taking short breaks and undergoing rigorous training to get strong and ready to battle and win this match…

**/**

**MANY DAYS LATER… | OUTSIDE OF GARREG MACH MONASTERY – NIGHTTIME**

**24****th**** of Wyvern Moon.**

While everybody was sleeping, a portal appeared from the sky and a ship emerged from there to land precisely closer to the entrance to the monastery.

Two people in black coat got off the ship and had a beautiful view of the whole Fodlan without anybody watching them.

"So… This is Fodlan, isn't?" said one of mysterious people in a female voice.

"Looks like it, Celica." Replied another one in male voice upon looking at the monastery.

"Then we're already here, Roxas." She realized of the place they were. "Are you sure your friend Sora is there?"

"I am. I can somewhat feel his presence, but it seems we are tired, we need to sleep." He affirmed her to be certain of Sora's presence, aside of suggesting to have some sleep, they had a lot to do in the next day.

"Yes, my eyes are really tiring me." Celica agreed to sit down against the wall, followed by him.

The duo sat down against the wall of the monastery and embraced each other until falling asleep… anticipating upcoming events being unfold.

Roxas had finally arrived in Fodlan but he didn't come alone as he was joined by that girl named Celica.

**END OF CHAPTER 31**

**That's right, as you read it, Roxas is finally here, and he came with Celica, so he effectively was in Fire Emblem Echoes world and had to go through every hard moment being there, but he didn't stop him from defending himself and surviving dangerous encounters. **

**Also… I've been planning to write a side-story about Roxas's adventures in Valentia and how he came to meet Celica.**

**I hope you guys enjoy it. Anyway. See ya.**


	33. Last Preparations

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

Antex-TheLegendary Zoroark: I was thinking the same about what if Kronya joins Sora's army, even though he might not like her at first due to her ties with Solon and the others. And to have Roxas and Celica find her and act as a spy/scout is a great plan so she would gain important Intel for Sora and the others.

ramirezhuizar00: Same, this is the reason I'm also writing the Roxas side-story which tells his adventures in Valentia, you should check it out sometime.

Guest: You just gave me an idea about the white tigers, many will end up being nobodies, but there's a certain group that it won't and you're gonna find out sooner. Also, you gave me a great idea about Sora's wartime attire, be a mix between KHDDD and KH3 but I think he would look good wearing KH2's gloves as to have a true warrior's gaze, ah, and having Sora bear the Adrestian Emblem at his shirt.

**CHAPTER 32 – LAST PREPARATIONS**

**GARREG MACH MONASTERY | 24****TH**** OF WYBERN MOON - MORNING**

It's been a long time since all the four houses started their rigorous training for the upcoming battle in Gronder Field. Each and every one of them was determined to win this fight.

Sora yawned right after waking up by the sun rays through his room's window and dressed up his academy uniform when somebody knocked the door.

"Sora! Come out here!" it was Ashe's voice who called from outside. "Someone is looking for you!"

"What?!" he said in surprise eager to know who was it. "Who?"

"Someone who is said to be Roxas." Ashe replied letting him know that person's name, much to Sora's biggest surprise.

"Wait! Roxas is here?!" Sora said out of surprise, asking him if he was telling the truth.

"Yep, he's here." Ashe affirmed his question.

"I should meet with him!" Sora ran as quickly as he could to reunite with his friend.

Sora rushed to the monastery entrance to figure out if Ashe was telling him the truth as he said and saw a lot of people gathering there, besides, Sora noticed some girls having typical reactions when they see a handsome idol or something like that.

It was at this moment when Sora finally noticed something that made him glad, really glad at what he just saw.

"Roxas! Hey!" he shouted at happiness running and hugging him like a happy child.

That's right, Sora came to meet with Roxas and saw him wearing the same academy uniform as the others, and he wasn't alone as there was a red-haired girl alongside him.

"Sora! Hello." Roxas replied back in surprise at his reaction. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I missed you so much." Sora spoke still in surprise and happiness. "It's been a long time, Roxas."

"Me too, man. I figured out the events you've been getting through and I felt the necessity to come here." Roxas explained his situation. "You must have seen Young Xehanort some time ago, right?"

"Yeah, and he's threatening to rebuild the fallen group to take revenge on us." Sora stated his nemesis's evil intentions.

"I can see that, it seems that he's more than willing to want a payback for defying his logic and all." Roxas knew where his friend was going through. "Anyway… I forgot to introduce you someone who decided to come with me."

"Nice to meet you, Sora." the red-haired girl spoke showing not-that-typical medieval attitude. "My name's Celica."

"Nice to meet you too." He replied nicely. "It's a beautiful name you have."

"Thank you… Roxas told me about your actions you have made until now, looks like you have become a hardened keyblade wielder like him." Celica let out some comments about his actions during his time traveling to every world and facing Master Xehanort.

"Of course, I've been through hard situations and faced many strong enemies." Sora assured her recognizing the problems he went through to become on what he is.

"I can tell that, Sora. Manuela and Hanneman got us registered and asked us which house we had to choose… And as they answered my question about your whereabouts, we picked up the Black Eagles." Roxas explained the way they went on to enroll at the officers' academy, much to Sora's happiness.

"Really?! That's awesome!" he expressed joyfulness upon hearing the news. "This means we're gonna be at the same team!"

"Of course, we're gonna fight together." Roxas affirmed his joyful words.

"It will be a big honor to be fighting alongside you, guys." Celica spoke showing gratefulness to be a new Black Eagle member.

"Anyway, we have to see Byleth to introduce her to you." Sora lead them the way to where his teacher was.

**/**

Sora leaded Roxas and Celica to where Byleth was and they found her feeding the cats.

"Hey, Byleth." Sora greeted her.

"Oh, hello, Sora." She greeted him back and turn her gaze at the two with curiosity. "And may I know who are those two?"

"My name is Roxas. Roxas Shimomura"

"I'm Celica Lima, nice to meet you."

"My pleasure. My name's Byleth, I'm Sora's and the Black Eagles' teacher"

"It's an honor to be part of the team, professor Byleth." Said Roxas showing respect to their new teacher.

"Thank you, Roxas, Celica. I'm sure we will get well along. By the way, do you have anything necessary to fight against the other houses during the Battle of Eagle of Lion, which will take place in Gronder Field?" Byleth expressed gratefulness to her two new students, aside of asking them if they had something to defend themselves.

"We do." Roxas showed his two keyblades, followed by Celica who summoned her own.

"Wow! So, you have a keyblade, too?!" Sora expressed surprise after seeing her summon her own keyblade. "How did you get it?"

"Well, I was at the brink of death against really strong enemy, a strong enemy whom I finally defeated and vanished thanks to this." Celica explained the way she obtained her keyblade.

"You must have gone through hardships, right?" Sora intuited her words mentioning her time on her path to become on what she is now.

"Indeed, but now I have become a strong female warrior as you can see."

"Celica has a lot of strength to be capable of using her keyblade..." Roxas said acknowledging her capacity as a keyblade wielder.

"I see… now that makes three keyblade wielders that we, the Black Eagles have." Byleth spoke sensing both Roxas and Celica's fiery auras, and gave them important instructions to stay frosty. "At this rate, we will become the most feared house among the others, but yeah, we must not let ourselves be carried away by the overconfidence, because we are not the only stronger ones, we must consider some people from other houses. Dimitri is a formidable man with a strong sense of chivalry due to his Faerghus culture background. Claude is a man who tends to cheat on battle deceiving anyone. And we still don't know who that fourth house representative and its team are, but it seems that it will be a tough team to defeat, so we better take actions carefully, guys."

"Thanks for advising us, Byleth." Sora thanked her for the precautions to take during this big battle.

"You're welcome, anyway, shall we begin the lesson?" She replied before declaring the start of her class.

**/**

**BLACK EAGLES CLASSROOM – MORNING**

It was lesson time for Sora and the others with their homeroom teacher Byleth, but before they could begin, she introduced the two new students.

"Okay, class. Before we get this lesson started, I must introduce you these two new students that will join us from now on. Roxas, Celica."

"My name is Roxas Shimomura, I hope we get along, nice to meet you."

"I'm Celica Lima, it's an honor to be a classmate of yours."

"Hello, Roxas. Hello, Celica." Everybody saluted them in unison.

"Very well, guys, who about you take your seats along with Sora and Edelgard?" Byleth pointed at the said desk.

"Thank you, professor." Said Roxas as he walked towards at the said desk and sat next to Sora, while Celica did the same next to Edelgard.

After that, Byleth began her lesson which can considered as typical as boring as the other houses' as well, but the biggest difference is that she preferred the practical and creative way to give her students motivation to enjoy her classes.

Like when Byleth wrote at the blackboard the weapons' advantage against specific unit, such as an arrow against a flying one and everything.

"…So kids, I cannot deny you that you all might encounter strong rivals along the way so this is why I must remind this… there's no shame… in getting our asses kicked, but as long as we're still on our feet, the heart of our team can never be broken." Byleth gave them a motivational speech to her students. "We'll do our best to be the last team standing, if the other houses are to be tough, so we are!"

"Yeah, Byleth!" Sora and the others replied having their hypes up.

"I see you all are enthusiastic about this battle, right? The battle is in three days, so we are going to have the intensive training to be ready to face everybody, but it will be after we head to the cafeteria and eat the today's menu so you will have time to mentally prepare yourselves."

With that, the whole Black Eagles ended the class and headed to the cafeteria where they all encountered the whole three houses eating together.

"Oh! Professor, hey!" Claude greeted them in cheerful voice.

"Hello, Claude, Dimitri, I see you all have gather here to loosen up, right?" Byleth greeted them back nicely.

"That's right, I heard some rumors about the Black Eagles becoming the most feared house." Claude said jokingly in regards to her team.

"Tell me about it, I won't go easy on anybody and I bet you won't either, Claude." Dimitri seconded trying hard to warn everybody of his capability.

"I can say the same thing to you, guys." Edelgard retorted giving them a warning glare too. "We are merely aware of how you all are hardening up."

"I can see that, Edelgard, your professor must be an excellent commander, anyway, does anybody know who is this fourth house leader?" Claude asked them out of curiosity.

"No, Claude, we still don't know anything." Sora replied admitting of not having idea about this person's identity.

"They say is one of the strongest warriors that anybody has never faced before." Felix gave a sharp-acid opinion. "It would be a worthy opponent for me to begin."

"Anyway, who are you guys? New professor Byleth's students?" asked Leonie looking at Roxas and Celica.

"Yes, I'm Roxas."

"Celica."

"I see… so you two enrolled at the academy and became professor Byleth's students." Dimitri said out of nicely, unaware that Roxas sensed darkness lurking beneath his nice prince's gaze, he could tell that something was really wrong with him but Dimitri tried his best to hide his inner angst to everyone, however, Roxas was not a fool and he wasn't going to mount a fuss in public either.

"Anyway, how about we all eat the today's menu?" Byleth invited everyone to have a meal together.

The day's special menu was the Beast Meat Teppanyaki, a dish that tasted like wilderness. Thick slices of meat covered with Noa fruit and grilled on a hotplate.

Everyone went on to eat the meal together, but the only ones who were notorious in eating a lot were Sora and Raphael, as the two shared something in common, eat a lot of food until their stomach bursts, non-literally speaking of course.

After everyone finished eating, each and every one went to train intensively for the biggest battle in Gronder Field.

Everyone was determined to show who is the best and be the last team standing.

**/**

**TWO DAYS LATER – 26****TH**** OF WYBERN MOON | ROXAS'S ROOM**

The night before the upcoming battle, Sora and Roxas had a private conversation, apparently about a serious matter in regard to Dimitri and the others.

"So… Have you sensed something dark within Dimitri's heart, right?" Roxas began.

"Sort of, but he's been behaving strangely in front of everybody, trying to play nice and all." Sora replied expressing concern about Dimitri's well-being and his forced behavior. "I was witnessing a fight between him and Felix punching each other, Sylvain was smart enough to pull me away from the two, and he asked me stay away every time they become aggressive at each other."

"He must have a horrifying strength to break anyone's skull, doesn't he?" Roxas asked him a question out of intrigue. "Because something tells me that something really bad happened to him in the past."

"Looks like it, Sylvain told me once he saw him tear a table apart with a simple but hard punch, I think this is what Felix is trying to tell me. To be careful with Dimitri." Sora affirmed him having the same look.

"Crap… At this rate, he could kill somebody if he did the same thing letting himself give in to the insanity… or if Young Xehanort took his heart from him." Roxas understood the future king of Faerghus' biggest problem.

"How can we stop this from happening?" Sora asked trying to figure out a way to prevent Dimitri from going insane.

"To be frank, there's no telling if he will resist the urge to show signs of insanity for much longer, besides, he would be a monster on battlefield if what you said about his brute strength is truth." Roxas said trying to be realist. "So, we have to be cautious about his unpredictable personality 'cause he could become crazy at any moment, overall during the battle."

"I see… Now we are aware of his inner dark presence within Dimitri's heart. One of us will have to face him in Gronder Field, Roxas." Sora was now aware of the blonde boy's disturbing attitude.

"I'll deal with him, Sora." Roxas offered himself to face Dimitri.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked him out of amusement.

"Yes, I can tell you are eager to face that fourth house secret leader, aren't you?" Roxas chuckled lightly upon hearing him those words.

"You read my mind, yes. I do want to face this mysterious person who leads the fourth house." Sora recognized his desire to have that person at front.

"Okay, here's the deal, I'll face Dimitri and you'll deal with that fourth house leader, right?" Roxas stated the initiative between the two.

"Deal." Sora accepted the deal. After all, the two would get to face their most respective formidable rivals during the battle, it would not be an easy task for both, but they are more than determined to give their best shot next day.

"Looks like we have to sleep." Roxas yawned feeling sleepy.

"Me too, good night, Roxas." Sora did the same leaving the room.

"Good night, Sora."

And the two proceed to fall asleep to recharge their enough energy for the incoming battle in the Gronder Field…

**/**

**27****TH**** OF WYBERN MOON | GRONDER FIELD - MORNING.**

The day had finally come for the fourth houses to face each other and win the biggest battle that everybody would remember for a long time.

The Black Eagles team headed to the field where they would have to defeat each and every one across the other three houses and be the last team standing.

"Gronder Field is in the Empire. It's actually part of my family's territory—House Bergliez." Caspar gave them a brief story of his family background.

"Is this your family's?" Sora asked him out of curiosity.

"That's right, dude. It is the largest field in all of Fódlan. The grain it produces sustains the whole Empire." Caspar replied mentioning the nature of the field, only to realize of something. "Wait… I hope we don't destroy all that grain…"

"It is considered the most suitable place for a large-scale battle." Hubert spoke in a dry voice.

"Byleth, if it were up to you, how would you approach this brawl?" Edelgard asked him about approaching the incoming fight.

"I'd fight them head-on." She replied expressing his desire to fight anybody at the front.

"That sounds like a certain someone we both know. But as you wish. We'll use whatever strategy you think is best." Edelgard gave a neutral answer, nonetheless, she agreed with his suggestion. "If the Black Eagles band together, we won't lose."

"He's right, I prefer to fight anyone I got in front of me as well." Roxas shared the same objective as his friend.

"Same, I am to show them how stronger I have become." Celica showed enthusiasm about showing her capability as a keyblade wielder.

"Our strength is superior. So if we do lose, it will be on your shoulders, Professor." Hubert gave her a warning about the consequences she would face if they should lose.

"Don't worry, Hubert. We won't lose." Byleth expressed her confidence to raise their morals among each other.

"If you're not confident you can do this, just sit back and leave it to me." Said Ferdinand showing false courage, much to Hubert's dismay.

"The most you will do is to make things worse. You'll just get in Lady Edelgard's way." The future empress's butler gave him a creepy warning.

"Are you two about fight? Haha! Count me in!" Caspar was willing to join the argument, but then he realized of his wrong doings. "Wait, no. I think we all need to calm down."

"We have no lack of opponents. I am ready to go hunting for our enemies!" Petra gave a half-twisted statement speaking Basic English.

"Hunting isn't exactly… well, I guess they are pretty similar, actually." Dorothea tried to clarify the context of what she had just said.

"I'm just gonna hide in the fort and cheer everyone on. There, um, is a fort, right?" Bernadetta said trying to run away from the battle, but Linhardt gave her a blunt statement. "Sure, but it's deep in enemy territory. How kind of you to offer to cut through for us."

"What?! No!" Bernadetta retorted. "That's not what I meant! Ugh, good work, Bernie…"

"This will be your first battle, right, Flayn?" Sora asked her if she was ready to fight.

"Haha, I shall give it my all!" Flayn affirmed him being all set.

"Our battle will begin shortly. The flag of the Black Eagles will soon grace Gronder Field!" Edelgard spoke with conviction leading them to prepare themselves for the battle and defeat everyone.

Each and every member of their respective houses went to their positions to warm up and get ready to engage the biggest brawl across different points of the field.

"The Battle of the Eagle and Lion is set to begin at long last." Dimitri spoke motivating his teammates. "Everyone, show off the results of your dedicated training!"

"We'll do, man." Felix expressed enthusiasm while pointing his view at Sora.

With the Golden Deer, Claude was in the same position as the others, to win the battle.

"Remember, we're not just fighting for honor. There's a prize at stake." He said showing some greed and not willingness to fight anybody fair and square.

"Seriously, Claude, you should stop with your greed." Lysithea expressed her dismay.

"How could you say that? I just wanna us win this battle, little girl."

"I'm not a child!"

With the White Tigers, a man with a blond spiky hair, who turns out to be the house representative showed a lot of seriousness on his face, and then he looked at Sora with a challenging way.

"Seems that the Battle is about to begin…" said the man with a dried but serious voice.

"Looks like it, Cloud." A girl with a long and black hair replied. "I have never thought that we'd run into the strongest students around the academy.

"They say the Black Eagles are the most fearsome house as the Blue Lions, but I bet that's just a bullshit." Said a guy with a black spiky hair in a funny tone.

"Don't underestimate them, Zack. Those guys ain't a joke, especially this man over there." Cloud asked him to not joke around while pointing his gaze towards Sora from afar.

"I see, that girl gets my attention." The black-haired girl pointed her gaze to Celica, showing her desire to fight her.

"Do what you want, Tifa, I will deceive and have fun with anybody along the way." Spoke a brown-haired girl with a red headband in a sassing voice.

"In case anybody needs a medic, I'll provide some support." Seconded another girl with the same hair color with a humble and sweet voice.

"Very well, the battle is about to begin. Get ready." Cloud asked them to prepare themselves.

Finally with the Black Eagles, everybody was just warming up to fully go all-out against everyone in sight.

"It's almost time to begin. Steel yourselves, everyone." Edelgard said while getting herself ready.

"We're all set." Roxas seconded showing himself to be ready for anything.

"We won't lose!" Sora was eager to start the battle.

From afar, Rhea, Seteth and the other Knights of Seiros were standing at the top of the hill, two of them played some kind of hymn through their trumps that resounded throughout the Gronder Field.

The Blue Lions gave few steps ahead and Dimitri said this in a determined voice to everyone: "You all should know… I am not about to go easy on you today."

Claude did the same showing the same resolution as everybody else. "As long as we can pull off the win, doesn't matter how."

Edelgard was also determined to have her house to be the last team standing. "Our victory must be absolute… no matter what it may take." Then, Sora, Roxas, Celica and Byleth raised their respective weapons to use them in battle.

Cloud and his team showed up too having their faces written in determination. "No matter how strong you all are, we will prevail." He said in that voice tone.

"It is time." Seteth gave the order to make the last preparations.

One of the knights raised a flag and Edelgard lifted her hand and gestured towards the other houses. "Forward! Now!" she yelled as she and the others surged forward. "FOR THE BLACK EAGLEEEES!" Sora screamed at the top of his lungs in euphoria while surging among his teammates.

"For honor!" Dimitri shouted as he charged towards the others among his partners.

Claude did not say anything as he surged against everybody.

"Let's move!" Cloud called his team to engage the biggest battle across the fourth houses.

All while Seteth and Rhea were standing in silence and watching as all the students were beginning the brawl between each other.

**END OF CHAPTER 32 **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**Aaand the battle of eagle and lion begins, as you can see, the Fourth House leader turned out to be Cloud Strife, and he's a tough guy if you ask me. Just try to face him in Kingdom Hearts and pray that he doesn't defeat you quickly.**

**Here's the secret White Tiger House members:**

**-Cloud Strife (representative)**

**-TIfa Lockhart**

**-Zack Fair**

**-Jesse Raspberry**

**-Aerith Gainsborough **

**And the current roster of the Black Eagles:**

**-Byleth (Professor)**

**-Edelgard Von Hresvelg (House leader)**

**-Sora Nomura**

**-Roxas Shimomura**

**-Celica Lima**

**-Dorothea Arnault**

**-Hubert von Vestra**

**-Ferdinand von Aegir**

**-Linhardt von Hervring**

**-Caspar von Bergliez**

**-Petra Macneary**

**-Bernadetta von Varley**

**-Sylvain Jose Gautier.**

**-Ashe Ubert.**

**-Marianne von Edmund**

**And finally but not less important, is that I'm writing a Roxas side-story that narrates his adventures in Valentia before he came to Fodlan. The name for this story is Kingdom Hearts: Shadows of Valentia.**

**That's all I had to say, fellas. See ya.**


	34. Battle of the Eagle and Lion

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Indeed White Tigers are a good alternative to Cloud's team. About Celica's keyblade pose, yes, it will be similar to Aqua's, but when she's in battle stance, it will be similar to Kairi's.

Guest: That's a great idea for Byleth's upcoming keyblade stats.

**CHAPTER 33 – BATTLE OF EAGLE AND LION**

/

**GRONDER FIELD **

**[Final Fantasy VII Remake OST: Let the Battles Begin ~Break Through~]**

As soon as the battle began, each member of their respective houses started to clash each other with lances, punches, kicks, sword and magic attacks.

Ashe shot an arrow to every flying unit he saw while dodging anyone's attacks.

"What a nice weapon you have, fella." Zack looked at Ferdinand's lance. "Same for you." Ferdinand replied looking at Zack's weapon as well, the Buster Sword, the same as Cloud's.

After having a brief word, the two engaged a brawl between each other clashing their respective weapons…

Ferdinand tried to thrust his lance against Zack but it was a trap for him as he predicted his movements. Zack stepped aside and gave a strong swing across Ferdinand's back, leaving him out of the fight.

"Da-Damn it…" Ferdinand muttered and let out a grunt in defeat.

"Sorry, buddy, this isn't personal." Zack 'apologized' for wounding him. "Now… who shall be the next one?"

As the Blue Lions and Black Eagles were clashing each other, Claude had a plan to sneak inside Sora's team and troll him and the others. "The Black Eagles and Blue Lions are fighting… Maybe we can push through Sora's team…"

"I don't think so." Cloud's voice talked to him from behind. "How about you try to defeat us first?"

"Ooooh… so you wanna play with me! How scary!" Claude spoke nonchalantly trying to look himself brave letting himself be carried away by his visible arrogance.

But Cloud wasn't a fool, he could tell that he was trying to mess with him playing the hero, a bad hero. "Come on, if you're brave as you say, come at me." He dared him pointing his big blade at him, the Buster Sword. "Or is it you're a gutless nigger coward?"

Okay, this was a little bit racist, but Cloud read his body language and his nature of being such a cheater and uncompetitive man that Claude was, much to the latter's dismay and annoyance.

"How dare you?!" Claude spat in anger after being insulted preparing his bow. "You'll regret calling me that, you sick asshole!"

As he expected, Claude shot several arrows towards Cloud, but he missed as the latter was perfectly dodging his attacks in an impressive speed until he got close to him.

"Got cha." Cloud said as he gave a strong and critical swing across Claude's body and defeated him easily.

"Shit… He's fucking stronger." Claude spoke realizing of his foolishness retiring from the battlefield. "Sora… Edelgard… Dimitri… Be careful.

Cloud and his team went on to get rid of many more opponents from across three houses, like when Zack stepped into Dedue for example.

"I heard you're the highness's guard, am I right?" said Zack in challenging tone.

"I am, who are you?" the man replied aside of asking his name.

"I am Zack, a student from the White Tigers." He introduced himself. "Let's see who's the best!"

"Very well, I will not hold back, neither you shouldn't."

Jessie was engaging a brawl with Leonie and Lysithea, who tried to land a hit on her using the dark spikes she summoned, but Jessie was a very fast girl, therefore, it was easy for her to dodge every single attack rolling and leaping above the two.

"What the!" Leonie spat before shooting and failing to hit the target. "Gwaah!" she let out a pain grunt after being struck by a kunai onto her neck.

"Leonie!" Lysithea gasped before being knocked out the same way.

Tifa on the other hand, was engaging a physical and brutal combat against Lorenz, who was using his steel lance against her.

"I'm impressed that a pretty lady like you is capable of breaking anyone's bones with your bare hands." Lorenz praised her strength as he saw her grabbing his lance.

However, to his shock, Tifa broke his weapon in half. "Thanks… now you realize how strong a girl can be…" she said before engaging a great number of hard-hitting, brutal and bone-crushing fists on Lorenz until she sent him flying across the field by a hit on his chin. Not killing him of course. Although she broke him few teeth off his mouth.

"Ooops, my bad." Said Tifa letting out a light chuckle realizing of what she had done, but she didn't care anyway, as she went to search for Celica.

Sora was engaging a brawl with every rival houses' soldiers along with Sylvain, Caspar and Roxas.

They were surrounded in a ring-like circle of soldiers pointing their spears at them.

"At my three we will defeat them all at once!" Sora gave them instructions.

"Okay, Sora!" Sylvain affirmed him being ready to engage like everybody else.

"1, 2, 3! Thunder!" Sora casted the Thundaga spell on the soldiers stunning them. "NOW!"

Sora and the others proceeded to knock out the soldiers and keep going on taking out more rivals on their way.

Zack was having a rough time with Dedue due to the brutal strength between the two, they both looked injured but neither of them ain't surrendering easily.

Dedue landed a brutal punch onto his face, but Zack had a plan under his sleeve, he channeled his sword to materialize a powerful attack, his Limit Break.

Zack then performed his Limit Break called Chain Slash, which consisted on him doing a quick sequence of fast-paced five sword attacks against Dedue, who tried to defend himself with his muscular arms but despite that, he fell on his knees after feeling the brutal power coming from him.

"I admit it, you're a strong man I ever met." Dedue acknowledged his great power admitting his defeat. "I shall take my leave… you have fought very well."

"I'll take it into account." Said Zack also recognizing his rival's strength.

"Are you okay?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah, this man was pretty tough." He replied having his smile on his face.

"I can see that." She noticed the injuries as she took her time to heal him.

Celica and Ingrid were fighting honorably clashing their weapons with all their might.

The female knight tried to stab her but Celica countered by swinging her keyblade and landed a hit on her.

"I'm impressed, Celica." Said Ingrid impressed for her actions. "You really turned out to be the most remarkable warrior I've ever met."

"Same for you, Ingrid." She replied in the same manner.

They resumed their fight between them parrying and charging at each other, Ingrid tried to make a thrust movement trying to pierce Celica, but she guarded using her keyblade and then gave a great number of strong combo against Ingrid and then she flipped her weapon and immediately performed the Zantetsuken technique going through her rival.

"Arrrgh…!" she grunted in pain falling on down the floor defeated. "I see... you truly are a great warrior. I am honored to have fought you.

"Me too." Celica showed respect towards her rival helping her to stand up.

"That's pretty nice of you… I'll be cheering everyone outside, good luck." Ingrid was amazed of her actions, aside of wishing her luck on her efforts to win this battle.

"Thank you, you fought very well." She said thanking her as Ingrid walked away.

Just before she looked for more enemy soldiers to defeat, Celica stumbled onto Tifa, who looked at her with sort of interest of having a brawl with.

"I finally found you… Celica." Tifa said showing a lot of desire to fight her.

"And you are?" Celica asked her name putting herself in battle stance.

"My name is Tifa, Tifa Lockhart."

"Nice to meet you." Celica put out her keyblade to prepare herself for battle.

"Same, now let's fight!" Tifa shouted as she surged against Celica, starting their brawl against each other.

Most of the members from the three houses were tearing each other apart resulting in smaller numbers remaining from Black Eagles, Blue Lions and the White Tigers, as all the Golden Deer were technically put out of the battle due to some stronger members' including Sora's, Edelgard's, Byleth's and Cloud and his team's actions.

Celica was doing her best effort to deal some damage to Tifa, which she rarely succeeded as Tifa was fast enough to dodge and punch her in the face few times, but Celica wasn't willing to surrender to her as she got back up, showing a lot of courage on her face.

"You ain't standing down, are you?" Tifa said admiring her strength. "You don't wanna have your teeth broken."

"You still haven't seen anything yet." Celica said pointing her keyblade at her rival. "Looks like it's time to get serious… Give me strength!"

Celica's uniform were colored into light-green themes throughout the clothes' bars and buttons, but not only that, she displayed aura surrounding her body. That means Celica, had triggered her Mila form*.

"Give me what you got!" Tifa surged as she dared her to go all-out against each other.

What Tifa didn't realize was just as soon as she was about kick her, Celica guarded with her keyblade and retaliated by slashing her three times across her body.

Tifa ran and tried to punch Celica but she blocked one of her hands and punched Tifa in the face, leaving her stunned for a few moments.

Celica didn't waste her time on performing Ars Arcanium ability against her as soon as she surged between light-green particles and landed a strong combo number on Tifa and sent her to the floor.

"Now this is the fight I was waiting for!" Tifa shouted with euphoria as she got back up. "I won't hold back this time, so neither you should!"

Celica understood her message and the two surged to tear each other apart with swings, punches and kicks between the two until moderately wounding themselves.

As soon as Tifa was about to land a brutal kick onto her head, Celica disappeared just as she rolled out of her harm's way in light-greened particles.

Upon reappearing in front of her, Celica quickly threw her keyblade against Tifa using her Mila Raid* ability five consecutive times until giving one critical final hit on Tifa subduing her in the process.

However, Celica looked tired so she leaned herself with her keyblade as to keep standing on her feet as she returned back to normal.

"This really hurt." Tifa said admitting her defeat letting out a lot of panting. "You're the first person who has defeated me in a long time, I admire you because you kept going despite both us being wounded because of your great strength you have."

"You too, you hit really hard, really hard that I heard Lorenz being kicked out of the battlefield screaming and all." Celica replied in the same manner.

"You did? Well, he wasn't a match for me anyway." Tifa stated the reason of her defeating that guy. "Anyway… it was a nice of having our match, good luck."

"Thank you, Tifa." Celica shook hands and hugged her showing respect towards each other. "Heal!" she casted the Curaga spell to heal her wounds and proceed to search for her teammates.

Meanwhile, Roxas was battling Dimitri somewhere in the field, the two were giving an intense glare at each other as they were clashing their respective weapons with all their might.

Dimitri grazed Roxas's waist as the latter quickly dodge his thrust and gave a swing across his back, Roxas noticed his rival's determination written on his face as him.

"You're really good, Roxas." Dimitri said praising his actions and fighting skills. "But I am determined to be the last one standing and have the Blue Lions reach for the top!"

"Same as me, you fight honorably, but there's only one winner and a loser, and the Black Eagles will prevail!" Roxas said with the same determination pointing his keyblade at his opponent.

He and Roxas surged and brutally clashed their respective weapons glaring intensely, but Dimitri looked like a boar person as he tried to pierce Roxas but he quickly reacted and countered his attack by swinging Dimitri's lance aside and slashed him few times.

Dimitri may have been capable of defeating as many soldiers as he encountered earlier with his brute strength, but then he found warrior that matched his strength and had more skills than him.

That man is Roxas, the Sora's nobody who came to join Black Eagles and assist his friend during the upcoming dark times.

Dimitri roared as he surged against his rival trying to stab him, but Roxas quickly ducked-rolled forward and gave a strong vertical swing across his body.

The future king of Faerghus was not willing to give up easily, and neither was Roxas.

"It's admirable of you to still stand on your feet." Dimitri admired Roxas's iron will pointing his lance. "Aside of professor Byleth, Edelgard and Sora… You seem to be the toughest man I have met ever."

"Same for you… But it's time to end this right now." Roxas prepared himself to give him a final blow, as Dimitri as well.

"Very well…" he said as he pointed his lance towards his rival. "Hope you're ready!"

Roxas and Dimitri charged and stroke each other in the most hard and brutal way and stood still behind their backs for a few moments until one of them collapsed…

"Uhhhh…" Dimitri let out a huge grunt in pain as he fell and was lying down in the ground.

"I guess that… I have won." Said Roxas staggering while trying to keep on his feet.

"I-I can see why… It turns out that professor Byleth has trained you and your mates very well." Dimitri acknowledged his teacher's methods to make them stronger.

"You're right. She's the best commander we have… she's guiding us to become stronger soldiers, soldiers who can help each other out to defeat a tough enemy or… an evil organization for example." Roxas gave a motivational speech about Byleth as a teacher to him and his classmates.

"That's nice of her… If Byleth and I had met in other circumstances… maybe we'd have become like you and the others… Anyway… I'm afraid that I cannot fight any longer, we the Blue Lions have all been defeated." Dimitri stated as he got up to walk away. "It was an honor to have fought you, Roxas. Good luck."

"Same, take care." Roxas bid his farewell as he went on to search for his mates.

With Dimitri's defeat, the Blue Lions retreated from the battle along with the Golden Deer, now there were few people from both Black Eagles and White Tigers houses remaining.

Those from the red team were: Sora, Byleth, Edelgard, Roxas and Celica.

And the white team were: Cloud, Zack, Jessie and Aerith.

"Sora, are you ok?" Roxas called him after meeting with him and his team.

"Yeah… looks like it's just us." He replied looking at his remaining mates.

"Indeed, I think both Golden Deer and Blue Lions were wiped altogether." Edelgard scanned the field after realizing that she and her mates were the only ones remaining.

"This is as far as both houses went, they were all determined to win this match and still lost." Byleth spoke with determination. "But, we still have one more team to defeat."

"The White tigers." Celica said the next team's name to defeat.

"Exactly." Cloud's strong voice resounded through the Black Eagles' ears, but especially Sora's.

"It can't be…" Sora spoke in surprise upon gazing at him in surprise and shock at the same time. "Cloud?!"

"Do you know him?" Edelgard asked him out of surprise.

"Yeah, I have met with him few times." Sora affirmed her, before turning his gaze towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"If you want answers… then you gotta show me what you got." Cloud refused to answer him as he challenged him to a fight instead. "One on one, Sora."

"Alright, you got it!" Sora accepted his challenge putting out his keyblade.

"I'll challenge you too." Jessie pointer her finger towards Edelgard.

"I wouldn't mind if I faced a strong woman like you." Zack pointer his gaze towards Byleth as well.

This would turn into a toughest battle yet aside of having to deal with both Blue Lions and Golden deer.

"Be careful guys." Celica wished them good luck at her team.

The first ones to engage were Sora and Cloud as both surged against each other clashing intensely their respective weapons.

After clashing and parrying each other, Cloud gave few swings on Sora but it wasn't enough to put him down like he did with Claude, actually, that prompted Sora to retaliate by slashing Cloud with Ars Arcanium technique, much to his surprise.

"Impressive. Despite of slashing you, you're still on your feet." He smiled praising the biggest stamina of his opponent.

"I endured a lot of hardships." Sora said his reasons to have become stronger as before remembering his journey.

"Very well… how 'bout we strike each other? I will go all-out so you better not hold back, got it?" Cloud was getting ready to strike.

"I accept." Sora replied in the same manner.

It was at this moment that the two brutally clashed creating a huge wave across the field surprising the others. Sora and Cloud were mutually slashing each other without holding back nor counterattacking.

Just between the slashes, they staggered each other for a few moments, but Sora recovered quickly enough to surge against Cloud and strike him with Sonic Blade. Immediately, Sora leapt and airstepped towards him and make a strong number of air combos before pushing Cloud back to the ground with a one last hit.

Upon landing back to the ground, Sora started to wear down, but Cloud also was having the same problem as soon as they both began panting.

"Bollocks… I can't believe on how you have managed to withstand my attacks. Seems that you have become a tough man." Cloud acknowledged Sora's stamina and hardness as he got up.

"You're tough man too, Cloud. You aren't the White Tigers leader for nothing." Sora also gave him a compliment smiling on his teeth.

"You're right… but there can be only one winner…" Cloud prepared himself to risk it all, as Sora did too.

This was Cloud's last resort to try to defeat Sora, as he performed the Focused Thrust on his rival, just as Sora performed the Sonic Blade technique as well, the two struck each other at the same time and stood still for ten seconds until… Cloud collapsed to the ground feeling a sharp pain across his body, however, Sora immediately felt the same and fell to the ground alongside him.

"Damn, my body hurts very badly." Cloud expressed a grunt in pain.

"You tell me." Sora replied in the same manner. "My body aches too."

"Right? I admit it… From everybody I have defeated, you are few of the strongest man, Sora." Cloud spoke showing respect to his rival. "It's been nice to have fought you, despite we are both laying down in this grass, I do humbly admit my defeat."

"Defeat?" Sora asked him.

"Exactly… you gave a lot of brutal hits than I did it to you, despite going all-out between us, I realized how powerful you are, so when I touched the ground first, I knew I had fulfilled my objective to test your might and you bested me." Cloud answered his question stating his true intentions. "Anyway, I will fulfill the promise. The only reason Tifa, Zack, Jessie, Aerith and I are here, is because we believe that Sephiroth might be lurking somewhere in Fodlan, it's just we don't know where he's hiding."

"Sephiroth? Is he here?" Sora was intrigued upon his statement.

"Beats me, but there's a high possibility." Cloud assured him. "I just hope he doesn't interfere in our school life."

"That's why we gotta stay sharp." Sora understood his message. "Xehanort is been plotting something very bad as of late."

"Really? Then we have something in common then." Cloud coincided with him as they both have threatening enemies lurking in the shadows.

Despite their fight ending up in draw, Cloud admitted his defeat against Sora after engaging a brutal brawl with each other and finding out his strength, and thus, Sora went victorious.

Meanwhile, Edelgard was having a few problems keeping up with Jessie's speed, however, the future empress found a blind point around her rival, and landed strong and critical hit using her axe, subduing Jessie in the process.

"You're pretty smart." Jessie praised her.

"Same for you, you're quite faster." Edelgard said in the same manner praising her too.

"I can tell, looks like the Black Eagles have the strongest warriors as the rumors say." Jessie recognized Edelgard and her teammates' will to fight before leaving the battlefield.

Byleth and Zack were engaging a swordplay between each other, she dodge his horizontal attack by leaping above and transformed her sword into a whip and landed a number of strong hits against Zack and defeated him after giving one last but critical hit.

"Damn… you're pretty strong." Zack spoke as he tried to stand on his feet despite feeling his body stagger.

"Zack, let me—" Aerith tried to aid him but he stopped her. "It's ok, Aerith. We have fought enough to get to know those people. You guys have won. We give up. Looks like Cloud have discovered another strong warrior."

**[Music Stops]**

"This is the end of this year's Battle of the Eagle and Lion! And the winners are…" Seteth declared the end of the fight before announcing the winner of this brawl… "The Black Eagles!"

Did everybody hear well? Seteth declared Black Eagles house as the winners of this brutal brawl between the fourth houses.

"We won?!" Sora yelled getting up in surprise and excitement. "We won! YEAAAAAH!"

"See? Your team have the most capable warriors compared to the other houses." Cloud explained as he got up too. "Congrats."

"Thanks, you also fought very well." Sora shook his hands and hugged him showing respects to each other.

After that, Sora went to meet with Byleth and the others to celebrate their victory.

"Are you ok, Sora?" Edelgard asked him.

"Yeah, I'm happy that we won." Sora expressed his happiness of their victory.

"It was a narrow victory, but victory nonetheless." Edelgard was satisfied for winning against everybody.

"Edelgard. Professor, Roxas, Sora. That was spectacular battle." Dimitri approached them to congratulate the winning house. "You guys fought exceptionally well."

"Thank you, you too as well." Roxas replied back praising his house's actions.

"Complete and utter defeat… I would hate to make an enemy of you four." Said Claude admitting his defeat, even though he turned his gaze towards Cloud with slight annoyance.

"Oh, that's right. What is your name if you could introduce yourself?" Dimitri asked him.

"My name is Cloud Strife, I'm the leader of the White Tigers. It was a great battle to be honest, I never thought there would be many strong rivals here." Cloud introduced himself to the others looking at Sora, Edelgard, Roxas and Byleth.

"There are strong warriors everywhere." Edelgard recognized Cloud's statement. "Besides, there's no need to get carried away with praise. I know you guys feel we won by a paper-thin margin. And I won't deny it. If we were to fight again, there's no telling who would prevail. What do you think, Byleth?"

"Everybody was stronger on their own right. But, I think we have to give it to the White Tigers and and us too." Byleth replied recognizing everyone's strength while pointing her gaze towards Sora, Roxas, Edelgard, Celica, Dimitri and Cloud.

"I appreciate it, professor." Cloud said receiving praise from her.

"Indeed, looks like we and white tigers defeated more enemies than the other houses did." Edelgard coincided with Byleth.

"In any case, I hope the day never comes when we have to put this experience to use." Claude wished not to have to use their experience to inevitably kill each other.

"Agreed. I would hate to know a future in which I'm forced to cross swords with you." Dimitri also wished for the same peaceful future between them.

"True. Although the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was named after a war between the Empire and the Kingdom." Edelgard expressed agreement to the others. "But that's all in the past. I'm sure even the name will face from the pages of history."

"That's right, I wouldn't want to have to cut somebody down." Cloud also voiced his wishes to have the peaceful future.

"How about we try our best to get along?" Byleth proposed them.

"How admirable, Teach!" On that note, I have a proposition for all of you guys." Claude expressed excitement. "When we get back to Garreg Mach, let's have a gran feat to break down the walls between our respective houses. And by a 'grand' feast, I mean a fairly regular feast in the dining hall."

"I could care less about that proposition. But I'll make an exception this time." Cloud accepted.

"It would be a fine opportunity to get to know each other better. Count me in." Dimitri expressed enthusiasm.

"So be it. Let's plan to meet up on the night we return. Is that OK with you, Byleth?" Edelgard also agreed to have the meeting.

"Of course, we'll celebrate our victory." Byleth let out the best smile on her and her students.

"What's gotten into you today? I'm not used to seeing you this excited." Edelgard smiled back in surprise for her attitude. "Seeing such a big smile on your face is a rare gift… it makes me feel like I can maybe relax a little too."

**End of chapter 33**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

-Mila form: Celica's formchange that recolors her actual clothes in light-green themes using her "Mila's love." Keyblade which grants her high speed, a field of energy and light roll.

-Mila Raid: A Strike Raid variant which consists on Celica throwing her keyblade towards her targets letting out the light-green sparks and like Sora and Roxas, she can launch her weapon five consecutive times and eventually land one final critical hit dealing huge amounts of damage.

Finally… I finished writing this chapter, fellas. Writing the battle of the four houses with huge units was tiring, but everything grants a gratification.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you.


	35. A New Disaster

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Anthex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks man.**

**Wlyman2009: That's what I was thinking, Sora will do something to prevent Edelgard and Dimitri from killing each other, even though he would likely remain feral but will mellow out and low his murderous tendencies, which will no longer be against her.**

**Guest: Yes, please! Create stats for Celica's keyblade, just try to give her as much exp as to make her a strong keyblade wielder.**

**CHAPTER 34 – A New Disaster**

**/**

After the toughest battle between each other, everyone across the four houses gathered at the cafeteria to eat the most delicious meal they all shared.

Sora, Raphael, and Ingrid competed to see who ate the most, something that amused everyone including Edelgard and Byleth as well because they never had seen him be like that.

"Holy crap, did you guys see that?!" said Caspar upon watching Sora come out as a winner and… eructing along with the others.

Everyone burst in laughs at the three, however, the guy who were mostly making fun of was Claude due to letting out a loud fart in front of the others. Cloud couldn't help himself but to let out a light chuckle at the future archduke.

Everyone was having fun together, no bars between houses, just a joint party with each other.

The whole banquet lasted all day long until the sun sank and the night fell, making everybody greet and bid farewell to go back to their respective houses.

**/**

**BLACK EAGLES CLASSROOM – Evening.**

The whole team gathered at the classroom to cool down their minds after enduring all this whole meeting that Claude had proposed earlier.

"It's finally over… There were way too many strangers at that feast." Bernadetta expressed relieve.

"Bernadetta, put your chin high. It was a chance for you to have growth." Petra tried to comfort her.

"But… but everyone was acting so friendly! It was overwhelming…" Bernadetta replied still expressing sort of nervousness.

"I never knew that you were that capable of eating so much, Sora." Said Edelgard amused. "I take that you have a very big stomach, don't you?"

"I guess, I just love to eat delicious food I find." Sora spoke expressing his usual smiling attitude. "We can't fight with the empty stomach, right?"

"I guess you're right… you don't really cease to amuse me." The future empress showed her surprising gaze to the keyblade wielder, trying to hide her blushing.

"I never thought that this house was composed of diverse classmates." Celica spoke looking at their classmates.

"Yeah, they aren't like the Blue Lions nor the White Tigers, but at least they all have personality." Roxas agreed with her. "I think we did fine in joining Byleth and the others."

"I'm not done taking to you, Linhardt!" Caspar tried to talk to him. "If those Alliance guys came at it from here and those Kingdom guys came from there—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We'd have been able to take them out all at once. I heard you. I'm going to bed now." Linhardt said nonchalantly in a sleepy tone, much to his annoyance.

"I already knew that Ingrid had a habit to eat a lot but it surprised me to see Sora be like that." Ashe expressed his surprise about his partner.

"Yeah, I never thought that he would be capable of doing such thing!" Sylvain said coinciding with his classmate. "And to think that Sora would be able to surpass Ingrid in the food competition."

"Hey, guys. Did anyone get the feeling that there were already couples forming? That's not really fair, is it?" Dorothea voiced her complaint. "I wanted to sneak off with someone too…"

"I was hoping for some tea after our meal anyway. Would you care to join me?" Ferdinand tried to ask her out, only to receive a negative answer from her. "Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Noble. I already have my heart set on someone else." Dorothea said while pointing her gaze at Sora. It wasn't his fault that he was attractive to the women like Dorothea, Edelgard or even Byleth.

Also, Roxas was not exempt of being under radar of few women as well due to his looks, but Celica loved him for who he was, even though she was well aware that Roxas would likely have few female partners at their team.

"Until today, I thought it would fall to me to command and guide our ranks all by myself." Edelgard spoke while hanging outside with Byleth and Sora. "But with you leading us, I've gotten to experience what it's like to fight alongside everyone… And I've realized…how happy it makes me, fighting under your command, Byleth."

"You're right, we've been through every danger and survived thanks to help I've been giving you, guys." The teacher said acknowledging their strength as a team.

"The emperor doesn't take orders from anyone. It's their duty to stand alone and lead the empire." Edelgard said with a motivational speech. "But maybe it's better to have someone to rely on… so that you can support and guide each other through the darkness…"

"Through the darkness… We can give you a hand if you need to, Edelgard." Sora stated his intend to help her somewhat.

"I may be heir to the Imperial throne, but first and foremost, I'm a grateful student and a classmate of yours, guys." Said the future empress with a smile. "That will never change, even when I fulfill my destiny and become the emperor. I told you guys long time ago that I wished to enlist you two in the service of the Empire. Well, I take it back. Now, I wish only for your continued guidance during my eventual reign."

"I'd gladly join your when that happens." Sora expressed his willingness to enter at the Empire ranks.

"Are you sure you want join her, Sora?" Byleth asked him.

"Yeah!"

"Don't just hide away in the corner, guys." Linhardt called them out. "You're the reason we're celebrating."

"We are?" Sora said out of amusement.

"Yes! It's because of you that I've had the courage to leave my room for a bit each day and enjoy hanging with you guys. I'm… I'm so grateful, Byleth!" Bernadetta seemed cheering herself up and less insecure.

"We were all discussing how well you led us. Remarkable!" Ferdinand praised Byleth for her efficient command on them. "You, Sora are the most excellent swordsmen alongside Roxas and Celica."

"Your guidance is without parallel, Byleth. I have had practicing of that phrase." Petra also did the same speaking well as she could.

"Your training is top notch, really!" Caspar expressed praise towards Byleth.

"Whatever we do without you?" Dorothea talked recognizing their actions.

"I have had the opportunity to experience much. Please allow me to offer you my gratitude once more, Professor, Sora." Flayn expressed the necessity to show them her gratitude.

"I feel the same… You are something special, my teacher, and you, Sora." Edelgard began to open herself to the two, but more specifically to the keyblade wielder.

This comment made Sora have his cheeks mildly painted in red, was it a love declaration? Or was it just a praise? Who knows?

**/**

Meanwhile and unbeknownst to everyone, Rhea was sitting down on the corner of her bed trying to restrain her inner insanity, since she first met Byleth and Sora, the Archbishop had been feeling something dark within the heart of hers.

"This kid… This goddamn kid has been messing with my plans…" she said letting out a menacing voice referring to Sora. "I wanted to use this woman to see my mother, but this little pipsqueak stepped on the middle. But that's fine, I'll invent an excuse to make you submit and stay away from this huge business I have with your beloved teacher… I'll wait patiently until I make your precious bond with you two and that bitch that you have as a classmate of yours's friendship tear apart." Rhea also spoke in a threatening tone referring to Edelgard.

But suddenly, her eyes turned yellow for a second and let out a growl. "No… not yet…! Just a little longer… I still can't show that side of mines to everyone. But there will be a time when I show them the fatal consequences when they mess with me."

And then, Rhea let out a low but creepy laugh.

Rhea wasn't going to show her evil side to everyone immediately, even though she kind of knew that Byleth had somewhat figured it out but Rhea didn't care, after all, she was the absolute authority of the Church of Seiros, she had the power to do whatever she wanted, even going as far as to punish and kill anyone who questioned, or plotted to overthrow the system.

But for now, Rhea had to keep appearances...

**/**

**28****th**** of Wybern Moon. | AUDIENCE CHAMBER – DAYTIME**

Byleth went to meet with Rhea and Seteth like always to talk about her performance during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, besides of their upcoming mission.

"I can only call your deeds during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion… quite versatile." Rhea said congratulating her, while keeping the appearances quite nicely in front of everyone.

"Comparing against their performance at the mock battle of the Great Tree Moon, the students have grown significantly." Seteth also praised Byleth for her best tactics that lead her team win against everyone. "It is clear that this is a result of your guidance and command."

"In appreciation of your efforts, and to show our high hopes for the future of your students, I award you with this. Please continue to instruct your students as a model character." Rhea said in a nice voice tone.

"_So! You've made good use of all my power after all. I would have been upset if you had failed at such an easy task!_" Sothis spoke in such energic emotion. "_But given on how Sora was strong enough as you, that calms me down._"

This made Byleth smile on inside after listening to those comments.

However, Seteth went serious as he spoke to her. "It pains me to assign such a disturbing mission during such a blessed moment in time… however, next week your assignment will be to journey to Remire Village to investigate an abnormal occurrence there."

"_Remire Village… if I recall, you've been there with your father many times, right, Byleth?" _Sothis said trying to remember.

"_Yeah, I have… I've had been doing missions with him." _Byleth affirmed her. "Has there been such abnormal occurrence there?"

"I have yet to ascertain the details, but it would seem the villagers have been encountering strange silver-looking creatures and fighting them to survive." Seteth explained the situation. "I have already dispatched the knights to verify the authenticity of this information. They should be back shortly. I suggest you begin by finding out what they have discovered."

"I pray this is not a bad omen." Rhea looked genuinely concern about the villagers' safety. "May the goddess protect you all."

**/**

After hearing the news, Sora, Roxas, Celica and the Black Eagles went to the cafeteria to talk about the subject. "What do they mean they saw those mysterious silver creatures?" Ferdinand began. "We have not only run into few beasts… but we also encountered the Heartless, you know, these dark creatures, and even the bigger ones. What the heck is going on?"

"It's a good question, Ferdinand, but I can say with certainty that this is Young Xehanort's doing." Sora assured them knowing very well his evil intentions. "Heartless appear here because of his actions, and I don't doubt that those silver creatures could appear here at any second."

"Can you tell us who are these silver creatures?" Edelgard asked.

"These are the Nobodies." Sora replied leaving them stunned.

"Nobodies?" Ashe expressed out of curiosity.

"Yeah, these are the other type of enemies we have face for a very long time, but the ones with silver colors and elasticity are called Lesser Nobodies." Roxas tried to explain to them in an easy way possible for the others. "Like the heartless, they do also cause a lot of trouble."

"If what you say it is true… then we should go get those guys!" Ferdinand tried to incite them to search for the nobodies to defeat. "We still have to have Byleth's permission to do that, Ferdi…" Dorothea said asking him to wait to be given a go.

"You're right, I think I have to learn to be patient and—" he was saying when they heard a loud and heated argument from outside. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" it was Dimitri's angry scream, it seemed that he as arguing with Felix not that far from the cafeteria, and they were about to solve this problems by beating each other unless somebody stepped in the midst...

"Oh shit…" Sylvain knew what was going on between the two. "I'll be back in a second."

"I'll go with you." Sora tried to join him to stop the senseless bickering, but the red-haired man stopped him. "No, Sora... I don't want you to get in trouble because of Dimitri… You already have seen how he is when he becomes insane."

"He's right, Sora, let's let him calm the two down." Roxas expressed agreement with him. They didn't want Sora to be in a big trouble because of Dimitri's or Felix actions, and they were right to keep him out of this disturbing event.

Sora couldn't help but to see from the window how Sylvain was approaching the two intending to stop the fight.

"Settle down, boar! You are causing too much trouble to everyone around you!" Felix called him out, aside of defending himself from his friend's aggressive actions. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Don't tell me to calm down, god dammit!" Dimitri snapped pushing him away. "I can't stop hearing voices through my head! I wanna find the responsible of my fath—" Felix couldn't understand why his friend was so insane… so insane to get so triggered by some reason that nobody knew.

"Dimitri, stop it!" Sylvain interfered holding him from behind, it was good that he made it in time to end this senseless bickering between the two. "Do you wanna get your own team in trouble again? Settle down!"

The future king of Faerghus managed to somewhat come back to his sense, calm down his violent anger and realize of his mistakes he had just made. "My apologizes, it will not happen again." He said before leaving the place showing his visibly disturbed gaze looking down at the floor.

"Apologize my ass…" Felix muttered in low-stern voice while looking at his friend with disdain. It wasn't that he hated Dimitri, he really didn't… But in the past few days before the battle in Gronder field, he had been witnessing his inexplicable slow descend into the madness and aggressive behavior in front of everyone. Felix didn't like it at all. He already knew his violent side, but he never thought about coming to witness Dimitri explode at such degree as he had just done it at this moment.

"What's his problem?" Sylvain questioned out of concern for their friend.

"Beats me… but something is wrong with him. I already knew that he can break something with his bare hands, but I never thought that he… he would come to assault me like this, I think the hell he went through after his parents' death hurt him so much, but so being raised in that bullshit chivalry culture of Faerghus fucked him up so hard as to behave the way he did…" Felix stated expressing much disgust towards his country's culture, he had a very blunt tongue and all but at least he was likely being honest with his words. "Anyway, I wonder what's making him go ballistic like that…"

"It's a good question… Dimitri clearly needs help, but I guess trying to talk to him won't do a thing for now." Sylvain knew that it wasn't the right time to try to aid the guy for the time being.

"Yep, we better leave him be." Felix agreed while leaving the courtyard.

Inside the cafeteria, Sora and the others were witnessing the heated argument and Dimitri's attempted attack against Felix, they couldn't help but to become worried and wonder what was going through his head to behave violently and lose it.

Sora came to remember Felix's words about Dimitri's issues and figured out that the future king of Faerghus… was slowly losing his sanity while showing unpleasant tendencies in front of his friend.

"Did you guys see that?" Celica asked expressing concern just like her classmates.

"Yes." Sora nodded among the others.

"Dimitri was behaving aggressively with Felix, did he really have to attack his own friend out of blue?" Edelgard said gazing at Dimitri leave the courtyard worriedly. "This is concerning."

Nobody knew what was happening to Dimitri, but something told Sora that he was… effectively going through the same thing as Riku did, not only embracing the darkness little by little unconsciously… but Dimitri was another story as he also was letting his mind be clouded by the hatred, resentment and insanity too.

Byleth was right when she said that Dimitri seemed like a good man from outside, but he was holding a certain amount of darkness beneath his nice prince's façade. Something like that which was slowly eating him out.

Sora had to do something to stop Dimitri… but he couldn't make such a fuss in front of everyone as not to spread some wrong rumor and shock the others, which that would make him kiss a severe detention-or-kick out good bye, so he opted to let the nature flow its course for the time being.

**/**

**Infirmary**

Meanwhile, Shamir and Manuela were talking about the problem in Remire Village, nobody had heard news like this.

"That's what we're dealing with." Shamir began. "It is said that almost no village was harmed by those silver creatures."

"No one was harmed? I'm glad to hear that! But, since few moons ago, lots of dark creatures have been appearing around Fodlan, and now in this village." Manuela spoke visibly amazed.

"You're talking about Remire Village, aren't you, Manuela?" Jeralt came in alongside her daughter making the woman gasp in surprise.

"Oh my, if it isn't Jeralt. Tell me, what was the first thing you heard?" Manuela said in that voice tone, aside of asking him out of curiosity.

"Everything after you mentioned that no villager was harmed." He replied in a stern-like voice. "My child and I owe the people of Remire Village."

"If something's happening there, we must help them." Said Byleth expressing agreement with her father.

"We scouted the area ourselves. Speak with the knights, hear what they have to say." Shamir assured them that they had handled the situation. "I must go. Thank you for your help, Manuela."

Shamir left the infirmary to settle her own business or something like that. "You know, I'm more than willing to go with you to Remire Village… After all, I owe you my life." Said Manuela in a tease voice. "If you'd like, I bet we could manage the mission all by ourselves. Take Sora with us…"

Did Byleth hear well? It seemed that Manuela took a liking on the keyblade wielder, it was not that unusual for a mature woman like Manuela to have a crush on younger men as Sora or Roxas. It shouldn't be wrong, right? As long as both the two become a man and reach the adult age to… do 'that' if they want to.

"That's nice of you, Manuela." Byleth replied not quite understanding her flirting attitude, much to the nurse's surprise and smile.

"Professor! A bit of a tease, are we? A girl could get used to this side of you." Manuela flirted with some suggestive voice tone.

"Sorry, but I'll be going to the village as well. Enough nonsense. It's time to move out." Jeralt intervened stating his plans.

"As you like. Good-bye, Mr. Jeralt. Good-bye, Professor Byleth, send my kiss greetings to your handsome student." Manuela bid them farewell not before asking her to give Sora her regards, on her own way.

**/**

Jeralt and Byleth walked out of the infirmary after talking to Manuela about the current issues with the silver creatures. "I'll be in my office making preparations. What about you?"

"I will talk to my students about this, father." Byleth replied.

"If you have the time, it would be helpful if you could go ahead and talk to the knights." Jeralt suggested her daughter to make a research about the incident.

But suddenly, Byleth felt a severe headache and started to feel dizzy, collapsing to the ground in front of his concerned father.

"Byleth!? Byleth! My kid! What's wrong?!" Jeralt helped her out while trying to handle keep her awake, which he succeed as he saw her daughter open her eyes. "Thank god, you scared me, my babygirl."

"Sorry… I just got a little dizzy." Byleth re-incorporated herself getting up.

"If anything feels off… then I suggest you return to the infirmary, got it?" Jeralt advised her to head back if she ever felt sick. "No need to just grin and bear it."

"Okay, dad. I'll take it into account." Byleth nodded. "I need to walk."

"I'll be in the office of you need something." Jeralt let her wander around the monastery, growing concern about her wellbeing.

While she was walking and thinking about why she got dizzy, she heard Sothis's voice resound through her mind. "_Ugh…What could have caused such dizziness? I felt it too._"

"_You felt that too?_" Byleth asked out of surprise.

"_Yeah, I felt my head almost explode and I got numb. Hold on, I have felt that way before._"

"_You did?" _

"_Yep._"

**END OF CHAPTER 34**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Oh crap, Dimitri showed first signs of slowly losing it for obvious reasons we all know, anyway, I have been thinking of placing his Azure Moon incarnation here because I thought: What if AM!Dimitri met CF!Edelgard? I think this would be interesting to see how they interacted.

Besides, I have been thinking about writing a golden route, but I hear this is difficult considering on how the they oppose each other given their atrocious and heart-wrenching past of the two.

So, any feedback or suggestion is welcome so I could check them up and express my creativity in bringing you chapter per chapter.

Anyway, peace out.


	36. Paralogue: Rumored Nuptials

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.**

**Anthex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks, I'll make use some of your ideas to write such scenes you have suggested me.**

**Guest: Thanks for your ideas, man and I glad you're enjoying my fic. **

**/**

**CHAPTER 35 – Paralogue: Rumored Nuptials.**

**CAFETERIA**

Dimitri had had a fight with Felix showing an aggressive behavior against him, his mind was beginning to be cloud with rage and resentment against somebody who could be lurking in the monastery.

They were to set a severe turmoil between each other until Sylvain got in the midst and prevented them from breaking their jaws.

The two already had known his violent tendencies, but they never thought that Dimitri would come to show such a level of extreme insanity, it was like he was slowly being possessed by a kind of darkness entity despite of the prince fighting it from inside.

Sora and the others were watching Dimitri's disturbing behavior with concern, the keyblade wielder knew what others didn't but he couldn't bring himself to spread this brutal but real rumor as to not to be labelled as a liar.

He had to focus on his mission with his team for now.

"You look unwell. It's because of what happened, isn't it?" Hubert asked her out of genuine concern, not precisely about the future king of Faerghus, but Remire Village.

"Don't speak it aloud." Edelgard frowned asking him to keep his voice low.

"You can't change the past, milady. For now, all we can do is use it at our advantage."

"I know that. I also know that I must steel myself to ascend the Imperial throne." Edelgard said with a stern voice in determination in becoming the empress.

"Those preparations are going well. We…" Hubert was speaking as he saw someone approaching. "Someone is coming."

"Byleth, I heard about our mission for this month." Edelgard talked upon seeing her. "Something terrible is happening in Remire Village. That's where you and Sora were when fate sent you our way. This feels…preordained."

"Yes, I remember it. You, Dimitri and Claude were in trouble and we had to assist you back there." Byleth acknowledged that moment when she and Sora saved them from Kostas and his henchmen.

"Are the knights making progress with their investigation?" Hubert made her a question.

"They are, Hubert." Byleth nodded.

"If what is happening there is by design, there must be something pulling the strings." The butler thought placing his fingers on his chin with suspicion. "There is the Death Knight, of course. And the mysterious mages who were implicated with the Western Church. They showed up when Flayn was kidnapped as well. And now there is another strange occurrence near the monastery. It seems an unknown organization hopes to make the monastery its stage for something."

"Do you believe all of these incidents are connected, Byleth?" Edelgard asked her with intrigue.

"No, they aren't connected at all, it could be for different motives or something." Byleth denied assuring her that they are different incidents, much to the future empress surprise.

"Oh? I'm surprised to hear you say that. But actually… I agree." She expressed her surprise while expressing agreement with her. "It certainly appears that all of the events surrounding the monastery are connected by a single thread. However… I think it's possible that it may just be a result of different motives overlapping as you say. Remember, Byleth… if you think of people as simply enemies or allies, it may be impossible to grasp the truth."

What did Edelgard mean with seeing people as simply enemies or allies? Where did this come from? Why would she say it out of blue? What is the reason for her to say that?

Isn't it to say to Byleth to not let herself be carried out by the others' prejudices and have her own judgment towards people instead?

"Got it, Edelgard." Byleth understood her words. "I'm taking my leave, if you need something I'll be outside."

"Okay, Byleth." She said seeing her leave the cafeteria.

**/**

**BLUE LIONS CLASSROOM**

Ingrid was reading something like a typical paper with ancient colors, which turned out to be something that she didn't like to read.

"Father, when will you stop sending another marriage proposal letter?" She sighed with annoyance.

Aside of having to deal with Dimitri's behavior, Ingrid had been receiving her father's letters which were trying to force her to marry someone who she didn't know.

Ingrid had been raised with knighthood and chivalry culture, but what was grinding her gears was the fact that the whole crest system was seen as a huge importance as for her family to force her to make her a trophy wife for a man she didn't know.

Since she had met Sora, she questioned herself if she should remain with the Blue Lions and… get screwed up by this very choking Faerghus culture, or… rather deflect and go to the free world with the Black Eagles.

However, Ingrid was well aware that doing this would put her at risk of being branded as a traitor to her own country and disappoint her own family, she wanted to be useful for her comrades, and she wanted to become a true knight to protect her people. There was a lot of things Ingrid wanted to learn from Sora, like becoming a free woman who makes her own choice, a woman who didn't care what the others said.

"What's the matter, Ingrid? I never hear you sigh like that." a voice surprised her and she turned around to see who it was.

"Oh, hi, Dorothea, and hello Sora. Nothing's the matter. Well, nothing major." Ingrid said trying to hide her issues but Dorothea was not a fool.

"You don't look like it's nothing major." Dorothea said realizing of the girl's concerning gaze. "Then again, I suppose you always have a furrowed brow, don't you?"

"Truth be told, there's rather a lot going on. It seems that there's always something to worry about…"

"What do you worry about?" Sora asked.

"A childhood friend who's always causing trouble, my family… Things like that." Ingrid answered him truly stating her issues. "You see, I received a letter from my father recently."

"A letter?" Sora frowned with curiosity.

"From Count Galatea? What a kind of gentleman to have for a father." Dorothea guessed the place that the letter could have effectively been sent from.

"I thank you. But the content within the letter is what I find troubling." Ingrid showed the said letter to the two.

"Let's see…" Sora started to read the letter, and just as Ingrid said, he found some troubling content within that letter. "A marriage proposal?!" he frowned upon finishing reading.

"Let me see!" Dorothea grabbed the letter off his hands and expressed the same surprise as Sora. "Oh, it's a marriage proposal… for you." She said gazing at the future knight.

"Ingrid, have you ever met that suitor of yours?" Sora made her a question about that fiancé.

"I've not met him, Sora, though I heard his name here and there." Ingrid replied assuring them about never meeting that suitor. "His name is Ned. He began as a merchant but has somehow achieved rank in court. An enterprising noble from an allied territory. It's most likely that he wants the Crest of Daphnel that I bear to adorn his family name."

"Hmm, yes, that sounds about right. The jerk." Dorothea seemed to quite know that man.

"Do you know him, Dorothea?" Sora asked her in surprise.

"Yes, I admit that I know him. He tried to court me while I was a singer, Sora." She replied affirming him expressing annoyance towards Ned. "Best advice I can give you, Ingrid? Stay far, far away from this guy."

"He's offered a sizable dowry, so I must at least consider it—for the sake for my family." Ingrid showed hesitation in accepting Dorothea's suggestion.

"Dowry? Ha! Blood money, that's all it is." Dorothea assured her about Ned's purpose.

"Dorothea, I—"

"This asshole's entire fortune is soaked in blood. Do you want to rebuild your own house using that kind of money?" Dorothea questioned Ingrid seemingly to know the man's obscure desires. "I mean, it's all just rumors, but I think it still might be worth investigating. What do you say, Sora? Shall we tell Byleth about this and check this guy out?"

"Let's go!" Sora accepted the suggestion.

"Great! Let's tell the others." Dorothea winked expressing gratefulness.

"Uh, really? OK…" Ingrid didn't look convinced, but they set out their mission anyways.

**/**

**GARREG MACH CAMPUS**

After accepting Dorothea's suggestion, Sora and the others headed out to the campus to search for Byleth and spotted her sitting down in a little table with a cup of tea.

"Hey Byleth!" Sora called her.

"Oh, hi, guys." Byleth greeted them nicely after taking a drink. "What's up? Can I help you with something?"

"Well, Byleth, we came to ask you if we could investigate someone." Dorothea began to explain the situation. "You see, Ingrid's been receiving a lot of marriage proposal letters and we want to help her out to solve this big problem."

"Marriage proposal?" Byleth asked in surprise frowning her gaze at the three. "Ingrid, do you know that suitor of yours?"

"No, but I have heard of him here and there, his name is Ned, he's an enterprising noble from an allied territory with an important rank in court, he mostly wants the Crest of Daphnel that I bear to adorn his family." Ingrid told her expressing self-doubt about accepting or rejecting the proposal.

"In other words, I think they are trying to force her to marry that guy. What if he's really an unscrupulous man?" Sora knew what Ingrid was getting into.

"A forced marriage… Sounds like someone is after her, looks like most people are obsessed over the crests… in that case, we will go investigate this man." Byleth agreed to help aside of calling the whole class.

**/**

**Ailell, the Valley of Torment.**

Sora and the others headed to the harshest environment due to constant lava streams and flow throughout the valley dodging the burning ground as they could while investigating the said merchant, the more they investigated the man, they soon figured out what kind of man Ned was.

"Pft… The more we look into this guy, the more I see he's a monster, and not good for my Ingrid!" Dorothea said gazing at Ned with concern with a stern glare, she wasn't kidding after all.

"No kidding." Ingrid agreed. "There's no denying it. We'd better get back to the monastery."

"Of course there's no need to—" Byleth was about to agree with the girls when… "Hold on a minute, you brats!" a man's voice made them halt immediately.

Suddenly, a group of rogues spread across the whole place surrounding them in an attempt to not have them a way out.

"What is going on!?" Celica said putting out her keyblade. "It reminds me of someone who tried to pull me into a forced marriage some time ago."

"I know that. Looks like this man just wants to feed up his greed." Roxas replied while gazing at Ned and his henchmen with stern.

"Hand over the girl!" a rogue tried to order them.

"Surely you can't mean me." Ingrid spoke as soon as she realized of Ned's schemes. "Hold on… did he send them?"

"I'm sure he did." Sora affirmed her getting himself ready for the battle.

"This jerk figures he can grab Ingrid before things can get too messy for him." Dorothea assured clutching her fists. "Of course, we do know the truth about him now, and he'll want to kill us to get rid of the evidence…"

"Such a filthy coward… To think that guy wants to play innocent with high-ranked court judges." Edelgard understood what Dorothea was saying.

"Alright, guys, we need to escort Ingrid out of here, some of us have to stick with her." Byleth started to give them instructions. "Sora, Edelgard, I think you two are suitable for this task, are you ready?"

"Yes, my teacher." The future empress agreed to help. "Let's go, Sora."

"Yeah." He said wielding his keyblade.

"The rest of us will deal with those rogues." Byleth continued. "Roxas, Celica, I understand that you don't want to kill a human being, I suggest you to just knock them out so the rest us of can take them down, how about that?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Roxas agreed with her plan.

"Much better." Celica coincided with them. "I have no problem with killing monsters and every dark creature, but when it comes to humans, I have to think twice."

"Sora, Edelgard, protect Ingrid! Don't let anyone get near her!" Dorothea asked him to defend her from the filthy rogues.

"I will!" he replied in determination.

"Hahaha! You'll never escape!" a rogue let out a maniacally evil laugh giving them a severe warning.

"We'll see about that!" Byleth said with determination in response putting out her sword, ready to start the battle.

**[INFORMATION: Protect Ingrid! Make sure she makes it to the way out!]**

Sora and Edelgard began escorting Ingrid as they dealt with the rogues, the keyblade wielder opted to just knock them out so the future Empress and female knight could toss them instead.

A rogue emerged from the ground to try to force Ingrid off her Pegasus but Edelgard tossed him out by throwing her ax at his head.

Sora took care of three rogues which came from the north with a strike raid as he, Ingrid and Edelgard were hallway there.

"We're almost there, just a little longer." Said Sora gazing at the exit.

But they were met with more rogues blocking their way, which meant more bad guys to defeat.

"Looks like that idiot doesn't wanna let us go with a fight." Edelgard clenched her teeth in annoyance.

"I'll increase the reward! Now hurry and capture that girl!" then they came meet the said Merchant, Ned.

"Ned is giving orders to the bandits! I bet if we take him out, reinforcements will cease!" Ingrid suggested them.

"Well, in that case, we'll take him down together." Sora said preparing himself to fight the mercs.

Sora, Ingrid and Edelgard worked together to toss the mercs on their way to where a stunned Ned was standing behind the exit.

Ned put out a sword looking tough showing bravado at the three.

"Come on, you assholes! You facing the greatest and important noble merchant with the most important rank in the court, Ned!" he spoke trying to sound and play himself as an important man. "Now, hand me that girl!"

"I won't go with you, Ned! I'm not becoming such a trophy wife of yours!" Ingrid stated her initiative, making the suitor infuriated in the process.

"I will not accept a "no" in as an answer!" Ned babbled in the angry tone raising his sword gazing at her with a murder glare. "I am to marry this woman to make our families stronger!"

"Sorry, but you have to get through us first!" Byleth challenged him.

"Very well! Die!" Ned charged at her without realizing of Byleth's strength.

Byleth paid attention to his movements, and then she used her sword's whip to give Ned a critical hit and defeat him in the process.

"Bollocks! To think that you have guys have a strong woman who could defeat me…!" Ned muttered between his teeth in defeat.

"That's enough, Ned." Said Ingrid coldly. "You are just an old greedy man who wants my crest to prestige your family. It's over."

"But-but…" Ned tried to reason with her but everyone ignored him.

"Alright, guys, we better go." Byleth suggested her students to leave the place and head back to the monastery."

**/**

**CAFETERIA – Daytime**

After helping Ingrid freed from that filthy suitor, Byleth and the others headed back to the monastery to enter in the cafeteria to wait for the future knight…

"Ingrid! Welcome back. Did you speak with your father?" Dorothea greeted her watching her arrive.

"I did. I just returned to the monastery." Ingrid replied.

"What happened with the proposal?" Byleth asked her.

"As soon as I informed him of the suitor's unsavory tendencies, he rejected the proposal outright." Ingrid explained the situation. "We were to form ties with such an individual, it would bode poorly for our family, regardless of the weight dowry offered."

"Oh, thank goodness! I'm so glad it all worked out." Dorothea said expressing gratification with that said.

"Dorothea, Professor, Sora… I want to thank you." Ingrid spoke feeling the blush boil her cheeks.

"Of course." Byleth said with a smile on her face.

"We couldn't just do nothing while you were facing a life of being married to a monster." Dorothea stated the real reason to help her friend. "I could never hand over my lovely Ingrid to some jerk who only wants her for her Crest." She said playfully.

"Oh? Do I belong to you now, rather to myself?" Ingrid said out of surprise for her teasing tone. "Hey… Dorothea. This is probably more than a little awkward, considering where it came from, but…here."

Ingrid showed her a sort of a beautiful and shiny ring, leaving Dorothea and everybody else stunned in surprise. "Wow! It's beautiful!" Sora exclaimed in surprise.

"A ring? Is this… No! Is it?!" Dorothea seconded looking at the ring.

"Is that a proposal?" Byleth asked out of curiosity.

"Of course! I'll accept your offer!" Dorothea happily replied saying yes, or that's what everyone thought. "We'll be together forever!"

"Stop teasing me, Dorothea! I'm trying to be sincere." Ingrid seemed nervous as she tried to calm her horses. "I wanted to find a way to emphasize how grateful I am to you. So I looked for something from among my things that I thought you would like. I mean…you may already have one like it, but I thought one the off chance you didn't…"

"Ingrid, you are just adorable and I love it." Dorothea expressed gazing at her with tenderness, and then she turn the keyblade wielder. "But perhaps we should lend this ring to our friend Sora for now."

"For me?" Sora said feeling blood foil through his cheeks in surprise.

"Yes." Dorothea affirmed. "Our dear man can best decide how to use it. You fought hard enough, Ingrid. You've earned the right to have a little fun."

It looked like Dorothea was right, Ingrid had the right to loosen off and forget about her duty as a knight for a while, what could it go wrong?

"As you wish, Dorothea. I gave the ring to you, so you can do whatever you please with it." Ingrid sank her face with a huge anime drop, which made Dorothea let out a light chuckle.

"She's right, Ingrid. You can decide on what you want to do." Sora said agreeing with her friend.

"Is that so? It may be difficult for me but you're right, I don't know why but when you are around me, I feel like I am a free bird." Ingrid said feeling like she was tossing a huge weight off her.

"You do?" Sora asked her out of curiosity and surprise.

"Ye-Yes, besides, I don't feel myself restrained by the Faerghus rules or anything." Ingrid continued. "Aside of having to be forced to marry somebody I don't know. I think I should openly tell you this, but make sure you keep the secret from everyone."

"We listening." Said Byleth willing to hear her out.

"Well, since I first met Sora, I have been watching over him this whole time, never thought that he is a freethinker, and that's what I always lacked until now." Ingrid explained her problem. "I used to believe that crests have a huge importance in this society we all live today, but now given to what happened to Sylvain's older brother and the pressure to have me forcefully married to such an evil suitor as Ned… I'm not so sure about this doctrine anymore."

"I think, this is a choice you have to make, Ingrid." Sora suggested her to think about her future.

"You're right… There are a lot of things I would like to learn from you and the Black Eagles." Ingrid acknowledged his words of courage. She knew pretty well that this would not be an easy task for her to express the free will she wished for.

"Well, in case you want to join our house, I'll be available if you decide to speak with me." Byleth said giving her a green light to potentially make her part of the red team if she wanted.

"Thank you, guys." Ingrid thanked them for their offer. "I'll take it into account."

**END OF CHAPTER 35**


End file.
